Nearly half of Canadian CEOs see AI enabling growth with fewer workers, survey finds

TORONTO · Almost half of Canadian chief executives believe artificial intelligence will help their companies grow while employing fewer people. A new survey from the consulting firm EY-Parthenon polled 50 leaders of large Canadian businesses. Among them, 46 percent said they expect companies to achieve long-term growth targets with a smaller workforce than they have now. The survey results were collected in August and September. EY said most participants run publicly traded firms with annual sales exceeding $1 billion US.

"As productivity gains begin to materialize, I’m seeing the conversation shift from efficiency to value," said Shane Dunn, managing partner at EY-Parthenon Canada. He added that a large majority of CEOs can show a return on AI investments, with the main measure being more output without adding staff or capital. The findings come as several major international companies announce job cuts linked to AI investments. This week, Microsoft said it is offering voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees worldwide as part of a cost-cutting effort to fund its AI projects. The company did not say how many Canadian workers were affected. Last week, Barclays bank announced plans to cut about 5,000 jobs this year, citing its push to use AI to reduce expenses. Canada has not seen layoffs on that scale, but some local firms have made cuts.

Toronto biomedical technology company BenchSci said AI was the reason for more than 200 layoffs starting last year and continuing into this year. Experts say it is too early to measure AI's full effect on employment. "We really don't see a negative labour market impact for any segment of the population that we can attribute to AI, and that includes the young people," said Viet Vu, a manager of economic research at Toronto Metropolitan University. Vu, who studies technology and work, said the fear is about the future. The EY survey reflected this, with 82 percent of CEOs saying AI will have a bigger impact on job roles and skills than on total workforce size over the next three years. Vu said construction and trade jobs are most protected from AI disruption, and he advised office workers to learn new skills. A recent TD Economics report also downplayed the risk of mass job losses. "The AI job apocalypse remains a risk scenario, not the base case," wrote senior economist Thomas Feltmate. He predicted a gradual shift in the job market, noting that while AI can change many workplace tasks, that does not automatically mean jobs will disappear. Feltmate explained that jobs involve a mix of tasks requiring different skills and judgment.

With files from CBC News