Pinterest layoffs reveal AI cracks in the job market
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Pinterest announced on Tuesday that it plans to lay off "less than 15%" of its workforce.
Why it matters: The broader corporate landscape has so far suggested that artificial intelligence isn't triggering a job-apocalypse, but Pinterest has now directly linked cutting human roles to AI.
Driving the news: The image-sharing site announced the coming layoffs in a securities filing, saying that it expects the cuts to be complete by the end of its third quarter in late September.
- "The Company is taking these actions to support its transformation initiatives," per the filing, which include "reallocating resources to AI-focused roles and teams that drive AI adoption and execution" and "prioritizing AI‑powered products and capabilities."
Catch up quick: Pinterest last October released an AI-powered "Pinterest Assistant" shopping tool.
- "Our investments in AI and product innovation are paying off," Pinterest CEO Bill Ready said in November. "We've become a leader in visual search and have effectively turned our platform into an AI-powered shopping assistant for 600 million customers."
Zoom out: AI's reshaping of the market has mostly left hiring and firing at a stalemate, but its impact is still growing, data shows.
- Federal data shows that hiring rates among U.S. employers are at lows last seen a decade ago, but firing rates are also still relatively low, Axios' Emily Peck writes.
- AI was responsible for nearly 55,000 layoffs in the U.S. last year, according to a December report from the consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Reality check: New evidence suggests that for now, AI is creating more work and jobs.
- The fund giant Vanguard released an analysis last month that found both wage and job growth increased over the past two years in the occupations most exposed to AI, compared with those with less exposure.
The bottom line: Employers are still largely trigger-shy about hiring and firing, but the companies most exposed to AI may be more willing to bet on it.
