AI Boosts Worker Efficiency Without Cutting Jobs at Companies

Artificial intelligence (AI) is often seen as a threat to jobs, but some companies are showing that AI might not eliminate as many positions as feared. Instead, it’s making workers more efficient. Alorica, a global customer-service provider based in Irvine, California, is an example of how AI can complement human workers rather than replace them. The company’s new AI-powered translation tool allows representatives to communicate with customers in 200 languages and 75 dialects, streamlining service without cutting jobs.

Boosting Efficiency, Not Cutting Jobs

Alorica’s use of AI tools, like real-time voice language translation, helps its agents handle customer inquiries more efficiently. Representatives can field calls in multiple languages without needing to hire new staff for specific language skills. Despite implementing these advanced AI tools, Alorica continues to hire aggressively, showing that AI can enhance worker productivity without reducing headcount.

Companies like Alorica and IKEA are embracing AI not to shrink their workforce but to empower it. AI handles routine tasks, allowing workers to focus on more complex customer needs. This pattern mirrors past technological advances—such as the steam engine and the internet—that initially seemed like job threats but ultimately increased productivity and created new job opportunities.

AI’s Role in Reshaping Jobs

According to Nick Bunker, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, AI will impact many jobs but likely won’t lead to mass unemployment. He compares AI to other technological breakthroughs, which destroyed some jobs but created others, ultimately benefiting workers, employers, and the economy.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers recently echoed this sentiment, citing a study by MIT economist David Autor, which found that 60% of jobs held by Americans in 2018 didn’t exist in 1940. These roles were created by later technological advances, suggesting that AI could follow a similar path.

AI in Action: Productivity Gains and Job Creation

In some cases, AI’s ability to handle routine tasks has led to significant productivity gains. At Alorica, a call center representative who had struggled with long call-handling times saw her average time per call drop from 14 minutes to just over seven after adopting AI tools. Across a group of 850 Alorica reps, AI reduced the average call-handling time by two minutes, allowing them to handle more calls in a day.

Similarly, a study by Stanford and MIT researchers found that customer-support agents using a generative AI-based assistant became 14% more productive. Inexperienced agents saw the largest gains, with a 34% improvement in productivity.

AI Augments Workers at IKEA and Beyond

At IKEA, AI-powered customer-service chatbots handle simple inquiries, freeing human representatives to focus on more complex tasks, like interior design consultations. Rather than cutting jobs, IKEA retrained 8,500 workers to adapt to the new technology, demonstrating how AI can complement human labor.

AI’s Mixed Impact: Not All Jobs Are Safe

While companies like Alorica and IKEA are using AI to enhance rather than replace workers, not all businesses are following this path. Indian entrepreneur Suumit Shah, for example, replaced 90% of his customer-support staff with a chatbot at his company, Dukaan, reducing response times and costs.

At the same time, some studies predict that certain jobs—like telemarketers and language teachers—are more vulnerable to AI disruption. However, even in these fields, AI could free up workers to take on more creative or complex tasks rather than eliminate jobs entirely.

The Future of AI in the Workplace

As AI continues to evolve, its impact on the workforce remains a topic of debate. While fears of job displacement persist, companies like Alorica are proving that AI can enhance productivity and provide opportunities for workers to develop new skills. The technology’s ability to handle routine tasks could lead to more efficient operations, allowing workers to focus on higher-value work and ultimately benefiting both businesses and employees.