White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has rejected concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) is destroying jobs, saying the technology is helping businesses grow and create employment opportunities.
Speaking to Fox Business, Hassett said, “AI is creating jobs right now and the people who are using it are booming. It’s not a negative employment story at all.”
His remarks come at a time when several major technology companies, including Amazon, Meta and Oracle, have announced large layoffs, with many firms saying AI-driven automation is helping them operate with fewer workers.
Hassett said AI is making businesses more productive and efficient. Comparing it to AI assistance in chess, he said companies are able to perform better by using the technology.
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“Well, if you just look at what equity markets are doing right now, what’s happening to people’s salaries, you can see that AI is making it easier for people to run firms better,” he said.
“You can run your firm better if you have AI, and that in the end is going to redound to everybody’s benefits.”
He also dismissed concerns that AI is making it harder for recent college graduates to find jobs.
“One of the talking points that we’ve been hearing over the last few months is, oh, well, the new college graduates, they’re not getting jobs because of AI,” Hassett said. “The most recent data shows the unemployment rate for new college graduates has plummeted. In other words, they’re being hired in droves.”
Hassett added that White House data showed small businesses adopting AI tools are seeing strong growth. According to him, companies that hired firms to integrate AI into their operations doubled their revenues over the past year.
“They’re becoming big businesses. They’re stealing business from big businesses, both here and abroad,” he said.
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At the same time, layoffs continue across the global technology sector. According to layoff tracker True Up, around 134,000 to 144,000 tech workers lost their jobs globally in the first five months of 2026 as companies shifted spending toward AI infrastructure, cloud computing, data centres and advanced chips.
Block earlier announced plans to cut nearly 4,000 jobs, while Amazon reportedly eliminated about 30,000 roles. Oracle cut around 20,000 jobs as it redirected resources toward hyperscale AI cloud infrastructure.
Meta also reduced about 8,000 jobs while moving thousands of employees into AI-focused teams. Microsoft, Cisco and Coinbase have also announced workforce reductions linked to AI restructuring and automation.
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