Why AI’s beginning doesn’t mean the end of your career

Natalie MacDonald was six weeks into maternity leave when she received a group email at 1 a.m. saying she had been laid off.

After seven years working at global tech company LinkedIn, the 36-year-old Sydney mother’s role as senior news editor was one of many axed as the organization pivoted to investment in artificial intelligence.

Australia-based companies have also signaled similar cuts.

Logistics technology provider WiseTech will cut 2,000 roles as part of its AI transformation, while Commonwealth Bank and Telstra have announced hundreds of roles will be separated.

According to Ranstad’s research, nearly one in three Australians are worried they will lose their jobs to AI in the next five years.

When the bad news landed in Ms. McDonald’s email inbox in May 2025, she was in a good place.

“People talk about the many stages of grief you go through when you’re made redundant, and luckily for me I didn’t feel that much shame,” he told AAP.

“I’ve always been really confident that I’m good at my job, that the work I do aligns with my values, and that I don’t leave anything on the table.”

He leveraged his 35,000 LinkedIn followers and 115,000 newsletter subscribers to launch Work@It.

Consulting helps organizations and leaders with brand narrative and messaging, supporting individuals to future-proof themselves in a rapidly changing world.

Since founding the company in August, Ms. MacDonald has helped more than 200 people through workshops or one-on-one training.

She has appeared on podcasts and supported clients from public relations firms to political leaders and athletes.

He says people who lose their jobs but are doing the best they can should make sure it’s not their fault.

“This wasn’t about you; you are one cog in a big machine.

“It was your role that was eliminated.”

Ms. MacDonald recommends that employees attend industry events and conferences to understand what leaders think are the skills they will need in the future.

It is also crucial to continue building professional networks.

“This network is what will potentially connect you to your next role,” Ms. MacDonald says.

“So being aware of the idea of ​​controlling what you can control and the information you receive and how you demonstrate your own expertise to the outside.”

Humans have many advantages over AI, including thinking strategically, building culture, and asking follow-up questions.

“It’s also about being able to hear what’s not being said in the room as well as what’s being said,” Ms. MacDonald says.

One in three Australians believe job opportunities have worsened in the last year, according to Ranstad research.

But businesses are looking for people skills as well as technical know-how and proficiency in AI tools, according to Ranstad’s director of public sector and business support, Amelia O’Carrigan.

“Employers are looking for skills such as analytical thinking, one’s natural curiosity, lifelong learning, creative thinking, agility and flexibility,” he told AAP.

Ranstad’s research found that mid-career Gen Xers (ages 46-61) and Millennials (30-45) are the most worried about their jobs disappearing.

Conversely, most baby boomers (62-80) are either retiring or nearing retirement or working in senior roles that depend on human judgment and critical thinking.

Generation Z, approximately 14 to 29 years old, is seen as less anxious and highly flexible, tech-savvy and open to taking on different and sometimes multiple roles.

Ultimately, layoffs are inevitable, according to David Phillips, associate marketing, data and technology leader at Deloitte Australia.

“There can be no impact on the number and type of people you employ,” he says.

However, even Agentic AI—autonomous systems that are more advanced than the first two AI “eras” of machine learning and large language models—still need humans to control the output of the technology.

“Even if you get really high results, we always recommend keeping a human in the loop, especially as it relates to anything that touches customers but also the middle and back office,” Mr. Phillips says.

Smart companies will continue to invest in people, he says, but will play a more strategic role in thinking about customers, clients and larger issues within organizations.

Australia’s already understaffed in-store retail staff are unlikely to be impacted by technology.

Mr Phillips says that in the future, AI agents will likely assist both businesses and individuals as employees, planners and shopping assistants, providing an “infinite workforce” at the disposal of a single person.

“What this means is that as individuals move away from more skilled day-to-day tasks, they need to put more oversight into what comes through that mechanism,” he says.

“I don’t think anyone in the world right now, especially us, is proposing to take people out of the loop.”

In Sydney, Ms Macdonald works with multiple teams at a television network; this is the latest in a long and diverse line of work through his consultancy.

“What I’m doing now is a bit of a portfolio career.” he says.

“I’m still figuring it out in a way.”

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