The jobs which UK companies cut for AI – and are now rehiring
Key Points
- Hiring firm Robert Half expect the UK to see a wave of firms rehiring employees it had previously let go as part of a wave of AI-based correction.
- AI needed more human oversight and quality control than originally expected.
- Several soft skills such as relationship management and institutional knowledge could not be replaced by AI.
- Robert Half's own data shows that UK professionals now spend 31% of their time using generative AI simply to check accuracy and refine its output.
- This trend towards hiring is being seen in the UK's latest job data, with job postings rising for the first and second quarters of the year.
Hiring firm Robert Half expect the UK to see a wave of firms rehiring employees it had previously let go as part of a wave of AI-based correction.
The firm cited North American data which shows that 32% of US and 34% of Canadian hiring managers who eliminated a role because of AI, subsequently rehired for the same or a similar position.
The data is based on a survey of more than 2,000 hiring managers and ran in April 2026. The biggest sectors with ‘role reversals’ was Finance (44%), followed by HR (35%), and Technology (32%).
Why firms rehired
Three reasons were given for the rehiring trend:
- AI needed more human oversight and quality control than originally expected;
- Several soft skills such as relationship management and institutional knowledge could not be replaced by AI;
- There was a significantly increased risk or compliance exposure when relying only on AI instead of humans.
One cited case study was carmaker Ford which rehired, hired, and promoted some 350 experienced engineers over a three year period after automated systems consistently failed to catch quality control problems. As a result, the company topped JD Power’s 2026 Initial Quality study for the first time in 16 years.
In another example, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia reversed the decision to make 45 customer service representatives redundant, after it was found that an AI voice bot actually increased call volumes rather than cutting down on them.
Robert Half also pointed to tech giant IBM which plans to triple US entry-level hiring in 2026 as part of a push to ensure continuity and skills development within the business. “If we don’t continue to invest in entry-level hires, what happens in three-five years? There’s no pipeline; the well simply dries up,” said Nickle LaMoreaux, Chief Human Resources Officer at IBM.
The UK is expected to follow
Data from software company Orgvue found that some 39% of business leaders made staff redundant because of AI, with 55% of this group subsequently admitting this was the wrong decision.
Research from Gartner also predicts that by 2027, half of companies which cut stuff because of AI will need to rehire for similar roles – albeit under different job titles.
Robert Half’s own data shows that UK professionals now spend 31% of their time using generative AI simply to check accuracy and refine its output.
This trend towards hiring is being seen in the UK’s latest job data, with job postings rising for the first and second quarters of the year. IT (42%), Logistics (24%), Utilities (21%), and Manufacturing (18%) saw the biggest uptick. Notably, IT vacancies were still 20% lower than the same period last year, indicating that the bounce back is not complete.
“The businesses seeing the greatest success with AI are not replacing people but are combining technology with human expertise, judgement, and relationship-building,” said Greg Scileppi, President of International Talent Solutions at Robert Half.
“As confidence returns to the labour market, employers that take a thoughtful approach to integrating AI with human talent will be best positioned to avoid costly hiring corrections and attract and retain the specialist skills they need to gain a competitive edge,” Scileppi said.
