Starbucks Ends AI Inventory Tool While Meta and Intuit Cut Jobs

Starbucks discontinued its Automated Counting system, an AI tool that used computer vision to track inventory, across more than 11,000 stores. Employees returned to manual counting after the system generated shortages. Meta cut 8,000 positions and Intuit reduced its workforce by 17 percent in the same week. The companies stated the reductions were intended to fund AI development.

The New York Times reported Meta's cuts.

Intuit's reduction equals roughly 3,000 positions based on its total headcount. Oracle, Amazon, Cisco, and Atlassian have also announced workforce reductions in recent months. 5 percent of recent college graduates are underemployed. Roles for candidates with less than one year of experience at large technology firms have declined by about 50 percent over five years.

LinkedIn data show job postings containing "AI" in the title have increased more than 300 percent in the past two years. The World Economic Forum projects a net gain of 78 million technology-related jobs globally by 2030. Most newly created AI-related positions require three to five years of prior experience with the relevant tools.

Entry-level positions that previously provided that experience have been reduced at several firms.