Artificial intelligence has become the single most-cited reason U.S. employers give for cutting jobs in 2026, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks corporate layoff announcements nationwide. While the picture varies by industry and role, new research from AI company Anthropic, combined with monthly labor data, has begun to paint a clearer picture of which jobs have been hit hardest so far this year. Here’s a look at 10 of the roles most affected.

1. Computer programmers

Anthropic’s Economic Index, which analyzes real usage data from millions of Claude conversations, found that computer programmers have the highest “observed exposure” to AI automation of any occupation studied, with AI already covering roughly 74.5% of their typical tasks. Technology companies have led every U.S. sector in job cuts this year, and multiple firms, including Microsoft, have publicly confirmed that a significant share of their code is now being written by AI systems rather than human engineers.

2. Customer service representatives

Customer service ranked second in Anthropic’s exposure data, with AI already handling roughly 70.1% of typical tasks in the role, driven largely by companies routing customer inquiries through automated systems and APIs. Industry-wide, research cited by multiple outlets estimates roughly 45% of customer service positions are exposed to chatbot and automated query systems. Not every experiment has succeeded outright — Swedish fintech company Klarna drew attention after replacing roughly 700 customer service agents with AI, only to later rehire human staff after acknowledging quality issues.

3. Data entry keyers

Data entry roles ranked third in Anthropic’s occupational exposure rankings, at 67.1%, reflecting how easily repetitive, rules-based data transfer tasks can be automated using existing AI tools. Multiple industry analyses describe data entry as among the most vulnerable job categories overall, given how directly the work maps onto automated processing systems already in wide commercial use.

4. Medical records specialists

Medical records and health information specialists showed the fourth-highest exposure in Anthropic’s data, at 66.7%. The finding was notable to researchers in part because it defies assumptions that AI’s impact would remain concentrated in lower-wage, less specialized roles; medical records work requires domain-specific knowledge but still involves highly structured, repeatable documentation tasks that AI systems handle efficiently.

5. Financial and investment analysts

Rounding out the top five most-exposed occupations in Anthropic’s research, financial and investment analysts showed 57.2% observed exposure to AI task automation. Economists at Anthropic who conducted the analysis noted that this finding was particularly striking, since financial analysis has traditionally been viewed as requiring significant human judgment rather than the kind of routine task execution more commonly associated with automation risk.

6. Human resources generalists

Several major companies have specifically cited HR functions in AI-driven restructuring this year. IBM has said its internal AI-based HR assistant now handles more than 11 million employee interactions annually with minimal human oversight, a shift the company has directly tied to broader HR workforce reductions, including thousands of HR-related job cuts.

7. Junior and entry-level software developers

While experienced software engineers focused on system design and architecture remain in relatively strong demand, entry-level developer roles have been hit disproportionately hard. Research from Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab, working with payroll processor ADP, found that employment among workers ages 22 to 25 in AI-exposed occupations has fallen roughly 13% since late 2022, with the decline reaching nearly 20% specifically among young software developers.

8. Content writers and copywriters

Entry-level writing and content roles, including junior copywriters and social media content moderators, have seen measurable declines as generative AI tools take over more routine writing and editing tasks. Analysts note that while senior creative direction roles remain comparatively insulated, junior positions built around producing high volumes of straightforward written content have proven more exposed.

9. Bank tellers and routine office administrative roles

Office and administrative support positions are frequently cited as among the most exposed job categories overall, given how much of the work involves scheduling, filing and other clearly repeatable processes. Bank teller positions specifically are projected to decline by roughly 15% between 2023 and 2033, translating to more than 50,000 positions disappearing over that period, according to industry projections tracking the role’s automation risk.

10. Customer service and sales support functions tied to enterprise software

Beyond traditional call-center work, companies have increasingly automated customer-facing sales and support functions embedded within enterprise software platforms. Salesforce, for example, eliminated roughly 4,000 customer service roles this year after its chief executive said publicly that the company needed a leaner workforce as AI tools absorbed more of that work.

What the broader numbers show

Challenger, Gray & Christmas data shows AI-related layoffs have accelerated sharply through 2026. The firm cited AI as the reason for nearly 40% of all announced job cuts in May alone, up from just 7% in January, with total AI-attributed layoffs for the year already surpassing the full-year total recorded in 2025. Andy Challenger, the firm’s chief revenue officer, has said the shift reflects a broader restructuring underway across corporate America. “AI is now the leading reason companies give for cutting jobs,” Challenger said, describing a pattern in which companies are reallocating budgets toward AI development even when the connection between AI adoption and specific job losses isn’t always direct. In a separate comment, Challenger noted that even when individual roles aren’t literally replaced by AI systems, “the money for those roles is,” reflecting how AI investment is reshaping corporate budgets more broadly.

Not everyone agrees the AI label always tells the full story. Daniel Zhao, chief economist at job site Glassdoor, has cautioned that companies don’t always accurately explain their own layoff decisions. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that’s actually why those layoffs are happening,” Zhao said, referring to the gap that can exist between a company’s stated rationale for cuts and the underlying financial or strategic pressures actually driving them.

A concentrated but growing disruption

Despite the headline numbers, most economists tracking the trend describe AI’s labor market impact so far as concentrated rather than universal, hitting entry-level and routine-task-heavy roles hardest while leaving employment for more experienced workers in the same fields comparatively stable. Whether that pattern holds, or whether AI’s reach continues expanding into more senior and specialized roles as the technology matures, remains one of the central open questions shaping how workers and employers plan for the remainder of 2026 and beyond.

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President Donald Trump said Friday that he considers LeBron James a possible “racist” while declaring Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time, remarks that came hours after James announced he would play for the Philadelphia 76ers this coming season.

A GOAT debate with a political twist

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked to weigh in on the long-running debate over whether James or Jordan deserves the title of basketball’s greatest player ever. Rather than addressing statistics, championships or on-court accomplishments, Trump framed his answer around his personal relationship with each player. Speaking about Jordan, Trump described their friendship directly. “Michael Jordan is a guy that’s a friend of mine. Play golf with him. He’s a really good guy,” Trump said.

Turning to James, Trump’s tone shifted sharply. According to Yahoo Sports, Trump said, “I think LeBron is, maybe he’s a racist. But maybe he doesn’t like Trump I don’t know.” He went on to justify his preference for Jordan on personal terms rather than basketball merit, concluding that his ranking came down to who liked him personally rather than any evaluation of the players’ careers.

A history of friction between Trump and James

Friday’s comments extend a yearslong pattern of public friction between Trump and James that dates back to Trump’s first term in office. According to The Hill, the two have clashed repeatedly over the years, including a notable 2018 exchange in which James criticized Trump’s approach to leadership. Reacting to Trump’s rhetoric at the time, James suggested the president’s comments no longer surprised him, saying, “It’s not even a surprise when he says something.”

Other accounts of the relationship point to additional flashpoints. According to Thought Catalog, James previously called Trump a “bum” after the president rescinded a planned White House invitation to the Golden State Warriors during an earlier NBA championship season, a decision James publicly criticized at the time. Trump later mocked James’ intelligence on social media in a separate incident, drawing public pushback that included support for James from Jordan himself, according to the same report.

James has also been an outspoken advocate on issues including police violence and has publicly criticized several of Trump’s political campaigns over the years, positioning him among the more politically vocal athletes in professional sports.

Timing tied to James’ move to Philadelphia

Trump’s comments came just hours after James confirmed he would sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, ending speculation about where the 41-year-old superstar would play in what is expected to be one of the final stretches of his 23-season NBA career. The timing led several reporters to ask Trump directly about the news during his Oval Office appearance, prompting the exchange over the GOAT debate.

James’ move to Philadelphia came after he bypassed potential reunions with both the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, two franchises where he previously won championships, in favor of joining a 76ers roster built around Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown.

A long-standing basketball debate reframed

The Jordan-versus-James debate has divided NBA fans for years, typically centered on statistical comparisons, championship counts and eras of competition rather than personal relationships. James has won four NBA titles and four MVP awards across his 23 seasons, a career that has included stops with the Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and now the 76ers. Jordan won six championships and five MVP awards during 13 seasons with the Chicago Bulls in the 1980s and 1990s, along with a brief comeback with the Washington Wizards in the early 2000s. Other NBA figures, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, are also occasionally floated in broader GOAT conversations, though Jordan and James remain the two most frequently debated candidates.

Trump’s decision to base his answer on personal friendship rather than on-court accomplishments marked a departure from how the debate is typically framed among basketball analysts and fans, drawing attention less for the substance of his pick and more for the accusation he leveled against James in the process.

Reaction and criticism

Trump’s remarks quickly circulated widely online, drawing criticism from commentators who noted the irony of Trump raising concerns about racism given his own history of controversial remarks touching on race, including past comments about African nations and immigrants that were widely condemned as racist, as well as his promotion of unfounded claims questioning the citizenship of former President Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president. Critics argued that Trump’s comment reflected a pattern of dismissing critics or perceived opponents through personal attacks rather than substantive engagement.

No immediate response from James

As of Friday, James had not publicly responded to Trump’s comments. Representatives for James and the 76ers did not immediately address the remarks either. Given the two men’s history of public exchanges over the years, further response from James or his camp remains possible in the days ahead, though none had surfaced by the time Trump’s comments began circulating widely online.

For now, Trump’s remarks have added a political dimension to a debate that traditionally centers on basketball performance rather than personal relationships or political alignment. Whether James addresses the comments directly, following a pattern of past exchanges between the two, or lets the moment pass without response, remains to be seen as he prepares to begin his tenure with the 76ers this coming season.

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