Goldman Says AI Will Displace One in Eleven American Workers, and the Layoffs Are Waiting for a Recession. The Same Morning, a Bank Whose Profits Rose 12% Cut 5,000 Jobs Without Waiting

Minds, Bodies, and Terawatts · Oct 23, 2026 · 4m · transcript

Fortune reported on October 22 that Goldman Sachs economist Joseph Briggs now estimates AI could displace about 9% of US workers, roughly 15 million, with the damage concentrated in the next recession because companies automate when revenue slows; routine-job share fell in steps in each past downturn and never recovered. The same morning Barclays announced 5,000 cuts, about 5% of staff and 60% in support functions including developers, 'driven by AI', while reporting pre-tax profit up 12%. Pantheon Macroeconomics separately puts current AI-linked US job losses above 10,000 a month.

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