Companies Ready to Cut Human Staff: Why They're Embracing AI Robots
Willing to Lay Off Human Workers, Here’s Why Companies are Falling in Love with AI Robots
- Freepik
Jakarta, VIVA – The wave of layoffs continues to haunt workers as global companies become increasingly aggressive in adopting robots and artificial intelligence (AI) agents, reducing the human workforce. It’s not just about adapting to technological developments; industry players are also revealing the advantages of AI robots compared to human workers.
Data from the consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows that AI contributed to nearly 55,000 mass layoffs in the United States throughout 2025. Technology giants and multinational corporations such as Amazon, Salesforce, Accenture, Heineken, and Lufthansa have reportedly cut thousands of jobs, partly due to AI-based automation.
The adoption of AI is no longer just a plan. Many global companies have made it part of their business strategy.
Microsoft’s Work Trend Index shows that as many as 80 per cent of company leaders plan to integrate AI agents widely into their operational strategies within the next 12 to 18 months. AI agents are software that can make decisions and complete tasks independently, with minimal human intervention.
Former Citi executive, Rob Garlick, revealed that AI robots will fundamentally change the labour market. Even in the coming decades, the number of robot workers will exceed human workers in the pursuit of profit.
Garlick said that robots offer a very rapid return on investment. According to Citi research, a US$15,000 robot can reach break-even point in just 3.8 weeks if it replaces a worker earning US$41 per hour.
For human workers with a minimum wage of US$7.25 per hour, robots can recover their capital in 21.6 weeks. Even a US$35,000 robot only needs 8.9 weeks to reach break-even point on high-wage jobs.
“You can buy humanoid robots today, which have a payback period of less than 10 weeks compared to human workers. Humans cannot compete with this,” said Garlick, as quoted by CNBC International on Wednesday, 25 February 2026.
It is this efficiency and speed in generating profits that makes companies increasingly interested in replacing human labour with machines. Robots do not need leave, do not experience fatigue, and can work almost non-stop.