Goldman Chief Challenges AI Jobs Panic

Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon has pushed back against fears that artificial intelligence will trigger mass unemployment, arguing that the US economy can adapt as the technology changes how work is organised. His position places the AI labour debate squarely in the boardroom, where executives are weighing productivity gains against workforce disruption.

Solomon acknowledged that AI will change the labour market and create new pressures for workers and institutions. Goldman Sachs analysis estimates that the technology could automate 25% of current work hours over the next decade. White-collar professions such as accounting, banking and law are expected to see many tasks automated, while the effect on some blue-collar roles remains harder to assess.

The central argument is that automation does not automatically mean disappearance. Solomon expects AI to free workers for more complex tasks, raise standards within existing professions and create new roles for people managing AI systems inside companies. That view frames the technology less as a replacement engine and more as a productivity tool that could alter job design, skill requirements and organisational structure.

The caution is that adaptation cannot be left entirely to market forces. Solomon said that if AI destroys jobs at an unprecedented scale, the public and private sectors would need to work together to help workers and institutions adjust. That places responsibility not only on policymakers, but also on corporate leaders deciding how quickly to automate and how seriously to invest in reskilling.

The executive challenge is to avoid treating AI as either apocalypse or miracle. Companies will still need to decide which tasks should be automated, which roles should be redesigned and where human judgement remains commercially valuable. The leaders who handle this transition well will not be those who simply cut headcount fastest, but those who turn AI into capability without hollowing out the workforce that gives it direction.