US Firms Plan to Hire More Staff as AI Limits Become Clear

According to Lianhe Zaobao citing The Wall Street Journal, major U.S. companies from railroad operator CSX to Google parent Alphabet have recently told investors they plan to add workers, reversing a months-long caution toward hiring amid economic uncertainty and expectations that AI could handle more tasks. Executives said AI’s high costs and limitations are leading some firms to bring in more staff, while others are filling gaps left by earlier layoffs. Sarah Franklin, chief executive of human resources platform Lattice, said many employers had stopped hiring entry-level workers and replaced them with AI agents, only to realize that AI still needs to work alongside people. M. Keith Waddell, chief executive of Robert Half, also said hiring demand is rising, suggesting AI’s effect on the labor market is milder than some had feared. The U.S. federal government said the number of people filing for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level since 1969. Snap-on plans to add workers to expand its business, while CSX said it will modestly increase staffing in its train and locomotive service division over the next few months to meet stronger market demand. Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi said the company will keep hiring in key investment areas such as AI and cloud computing, while ServiceNow wants more frontline sales staff to capture growth in cybersecurity. Paul Osterman, professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said it remains unclear whether AI will ultimately require more or fewer workers.