KQED's Forum The 'Great Flattening': White Collar Workers Hit by Historic Wave of Layoffs
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Nov 20, 2025 Join Noam Scheiber, a reporter from The New York Times, Aki Ito, a tech industry correspondent at Business Insider, and Alicia Gill, an executive coach, as they dive into the rising wave of white-collar layoffs. They discuss the paradox of layoffs in a seemingly strong economy, the impact of AI on job security, and the emotional toll on professionals facing job loss. Listeners share their struggles in navigating the job market, while the guests offer strategic advice for building resilience and finding opportunity amidst uncertainty.
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Layoffs Rise Despite Strong Macro Signals
- Layoffs have risen sharply this year with over a million private-sector cuts through ten months, even as headline macro indicators look healthy.
- Noam Scheiber says this divergence makes recent layoffs alarming and unusual outside recessions.
AI Is Framed As A Permanent Layoff Driver
- Companies cite AI as a reason for layoffs, framing them as permanent labor reductions tied to automation.
- Aki Ito warns this could be aspirational or premature given current AI capabilities.
White-Collar Slowdown Predates ChatGPT
- Long-term decline in demand for many white-collar roles predates generative AI by over a decade.
- Noam Scheiber notes AI may accelerate change but deeper structural shifts began well before chatbots.
