We take a look at some of Forrester’s predictions for the US jobs market and explore predictions relating to both sides of the pond.
When it comes to the conversation on artificial intelligence (AI), there are many points of view on its application. There are those who believe it has the potential to simplify working life, to the point that employees can focus on the aspects of their role that truly motivates them.
For others, AI is a slippery slope that exposes the individuals and collectives to risk, bringing with it the potential to lower skills and make employees surplus to requirement.
When it comes to the growing fears that AI could reduce and eliminate jobs, the ‘Forrester AI Job Impact Forecast, US, 2025-2030’ report predicted that only 6pc of roles in the US have the potential to be automated by 2030. Research predicts that “automation and AI will have a real but modest impact on jobs”, possibly equating to the loss of 10.4m roles.
However, it noted that “widespread AI-driven job replacement remains unlikely, as labour productivity would need to accelerate significantly for AI to replace human talent at scale”.
Rather than eliminating roles, Forrester’s research suggested that AI will “augment” jobs, with 20pc to be augmented over the course of the next four years – adding that this makes it essential for businesses to invest in employee training and upskilling.
Additionally, the report found that there is risk in buying into the AI hype as the over-automation of roles has the potential to lead to costly pullbacks, damaged reputations and weakened employee experiences. Forrester also predicted that more than “half of layoffs attributed to AI will be quietly reversed as companies realise the operational challenges of replacing human talent prematurely”.
Commenting on the report, JP Gownder, a vice-president and principal analyst at Forrester, said: “We may not be heading for an imminent AI job apocalypse, but how organisations handle AI today will define more than just their future success.
“To navigate the complexity around the human and AI era, leaders must prioritise governance and invest in their people, treating AI not as a replacement for human talent but as a tool to enhance it.”
With this in mind, how might AI and automation impact Europe over the course of the next four years, as we head towards 2030?
Different borders, same challenges
Throughout 2025, many organisations cut their numbers while prioritising AI adoption and innovation, such as Indeed, Glassdoor, Workday and Amazon. Some companies stated that the cuts were necessary to ensure their organisation was keeping pace with competitors in a modernising space.
And certainly, there is potential for additional job loss as a result of AI in the next few years as evidenced by a recent Morgan Stanley report published by the Financial Times. The report suggested that as many as 200,000 Europe-based banking roles could be eliminated by 2030, as enders focus more on AI and close physical branches.
Forrester, late last year, released predictions for how AI and automation might further impact Europe in 2026 and similar to the findings of the US-based report, it was discovered that when the hype and initial surge to implement new tech dies down, there could be a a greater focus given to issues such as AI governance, skills development and the use of AI agents.
It noted, in the face of rising geopolitical tensions, ongoing uncertainties and new legislative initiatives, which include the European Green Deal and the introduction of the EU AI Act, European countries will be less likely to experiment with high-risk use cases and may instead increase reliance on US hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
At the end of the day, with the EU AI Act in play, according to experts, companies have an obligation to ensure the workforce is sufficiently skilled in AI literacy, perhaps resulting in greater access to training and subsequent upskilling opportunities. While this won’t ‘future-proof’ an individual’s career in the wake of modernisation, it does present employees with the opportunity to get ahead of the wave so to speak.
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