A growing wave of white-collar layoffs tied to AI is bad news for workers and could eventually hurt the companies doing the cutting too.

• Companies are replacing high-paid office workers with AI to boost profit per employee, with Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, and Block among those cutting thousands of jobs.
• AI was blamed for a record share of layoffs in 2026, and unemployment has climbed to its highest level since the pandemic, hitting young workers in tech-exposed jobs hardest.
• The risk: laid-off high earners stop paying mortgages, car loans, and credit cards, which could hit banks and the wider economy since consumer spending drives most of U.S. growth.
• Regional banks are sitting on risky office-building loans as vacancies stay high, raising fears of a slow-building banking problem.
• Wealthy family offices are quietly pouring money into AI infrastructure and energy deals, betting that owners of capital will win big while workers' share of the economic pie shrinks.

Outlook: Expect more white-collar job cuts and growing debate over whether AI growth can keep boosting the economy while pushing unemployment higher.