99% of CEOs Will Replace Workers With AI Within 2 Years By Faustine Ngila

 A manager walking into a meeting with a slide deck titled “AI Transformation Strategy” might assume it is about productivity gains, but a new survey of nearly 1,000 U.S. executives suggests the real takeaway is far more direct, with almost 100% of CEOs reportedly expecting layoffs within two years as companies redesign operations around artificial intelligence, accelerating a shift in which workforce planning increasingly sounds less like human resources management and more like a quiet rehearsal for handing the keys of the office to the same software meant to “assist” it.

A new survey of corporate executives suggests that nearly all major employers are preparing for significant workforce reductions driven by artificial intelligence, underscoring growing expectations that AI adoption will accelerate restructuring across industries over the next two years.

A Mercer survey of nearly 1,000 U.S. executives found that 98% of respondents are planning major organizational redesigns linked to AI, while 99% expect the technology to trigger layoffs within the next two years.

The findings point to a rapid shift in corporate workforce strategy as companies move from experimentation to restructuring around AI systems, with executives anticipating widespread operational changes rather than incremental efficiency gains.

The report also highlights weakening employee sentiment as AI becomes a dominant theme in workplaces. Mercer found that the share of employees who describe themselves as “thriving” fell from 66% in 2024 to 44% in 2026.

At the same time, more than 20% of workers surveyed said they are “unsatisfied but… don’t have a choice at this point and will be staying for the next 12 months.”

The survey also suggests employers are preparing to expand monitoring and data-driven management tools in response to workforce strain. Mercer found that 49% of HR professionals expect integrating employee sentiment with behavioral data to become “critical” to workforce management over the next two years, while 44% pointed to always-on surveillance systems and 43% to AI chatbots.

The findings reflect broader debates over AI’s impact on labor markets, with companies increasingly deploying automation and algorithmic tools to reshape productivity expectations and reduce costs.

“99 percent of CEOs are preparing to lay off workers and replace them with AI within two years,” the report said.

The report adds to mounting concerns among workers and analysts that AI adoption may accelerate job displacement even before the technology fully matures in enterprise settings.