For workers worried about AI replacing them in their jobs, a new report could be construed as good news and bad news. Cambridge, Mass.-based research and consulting firm Forrester predicts AI will have a measurable impact on job loss over the next five years, but it won’t be as dire as many expect.
In the Forrester AI Job Impact Forecast, U.S., 2025–2030, researchers estimate that automation and AI will contribute to six percent of total U.S. job losses by 2030, representing about 10.4 million roles. The firm says large-scale replacement of human workers remains unlikely in the near term, citing the need for significantly higher productivity gains before AI can substitute for human labor at scale.
Rather than eliminating roles outright, Forrester expects AI to increasingly augment existing jobs. The firm forecasts that 20 percent of jobs will be augmented by AI over the next five years, a shift it says will require employers to prioritize training and upskilling efforts to prepare workers for AI-enabled workflows.
“We’ve entered a new era in which how organizations deploy AI will change how we work, how we serve customers, and how we live,” said JP Gownder, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester. “But in the next five years, the future of work will remain largely human. AI will take over increasing numbers of workflows and tasks, but workflows and tasks aren’t jobs. Your strategy must invest in the people who use AI to improve their productivity and employee experience.”
The report also cautions against aggressive automation initiatives driven by AI hype. According to Forrester, organizations that over-automate roles risk operational setbacks, reputational harm and declines in employee experience. Its 2026 future-of-work predictions indicate that more than half of layoffs attributed to AI will be quietly reversed as companies encounter the practical challenges of replacing human workers prematurely.