Companies Tie Employee Promotions to AI Use, Sparking Concerns Over Job Security

AI is becoming a new criterion in employee evaluations, with workers such as Duncan Trevithick in Spain reporting that higher output generated by AI raises expectations but does not bring additional compensation or leave. Management sees AI adoption as a way to justify maintaining output with fewer staff, especially after investing heavily in the technology, though McKinsey notes most firms still see limited economic benefit.

Companies including Accenture, Disney, Meta, JPMorgan and KPMG are tracking how staff use AI tools, and Coinbase has terminated employees who missed mandatory AI training. A senior employee at a US consulting firm confirmed that while no one is forced to use AI, performance reviews favor those who visibly employ it, allowing less-senior workers to outpace veterans. Academic Kamila Millerová cautions that when AI usage becomes a performance indicator, workers may use it unnecessarily, inflating statistics without true productivity gains. In response, firms like Duolingo and Amazon are moving away from counting AI interactions and focusing on actual work results.