Verizon CEO on AI and Unemployment
By SalaryFor.com – real salaries for all professions
Since Dan Schulman took the helm at Verizon in October 2025, he has become one of the most vocal—and perhaps most sobering—voices in the corporate world regarding the “AI Revolution.”
While many CEOs speak in platitudes about AI being a “co-pilot,” Schulman has taken a more blunt approach, warning that the economic shift could lead to levels of unemployment not seen since the Great Depression.
The Prediction: A 30% Unemployment Rate
In recent interviews, including a notable appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos and a sit-down with The Wall Street Journal in April 2026, Schulman projected that U.S. unemployment could reach 20% to 30% within the next two to five years.
To put that in perspective, the unemployment rate during the Great Depression peaked at roughly 25%. Schulman’s thesis rests on three core pillars:
1. The Speed of Replacement vs. Reskilling
Schulman argues that the primary danger isn’t just that AI can do these jobs, but that it will learn to do them faster than humans can learn new ones. He famously asked, “To what will you reskill?” when discussing sectors like customer service, basic programming, and legal work—all of which he believes could be cut by 50% or more.
2. The Rise of Humanoid Robotics
Unlike the initial wave of AI, which primarily threatened “white-collar” knowledge work, Schulman warns that the rapid advancement of humanoid robots is now putting “blue-collar” manual labor at risk. This creates a “pincer movement” where both physical and cognitive labor are being automated simultaneously.
3. The End of the “Network” Moat
For Verizon specifically, Schulman has been candid that the company can no longer survive simply by having the “best network.” As AI levels the playing field for connectivity and service, he believes telecom companies must lean into AI-driven efficiency just to stay competitive, even if that means a significantly smaller workforce.
“Radical Honesty” as a Leadership Strategy
Schulman’s stance is a departure from the “don’t-panic-the-shareholders” approach of his predecessors. He advocates for what he calls radical honesty.
- The 13,000 Cuts: Shortly after becoming CEO, Schulman oversaw the largest round of layoffs in Verizon’s history. While he maintained these weren’t caused by AI, he framed them as a necessary “slimming down” to prepare for an AI-centric future.
- The $20 Million Fund: To back his rhetoric, Verizon established a $20 million career transition and retraining fund. It is a drop in the bucket compared to the scale of the predicted disruption, but Schulman argues it’s a necessary first step in a “new social contract.”
- Taxation and Policy: Schulman has even floated the idea of working with the public sector on “different forms of taxation” (likely a nod to robot taxes or universal basic income) to redistribute the wealth created by AI-driven productivity.
The Counter-Argument
Not everyone in the C-suite agrees with Schulman’s “doomsday” numbers. Leaders like Microsoft’s Brad Smith and IBM’s Arvind Krishna have argued that while AI will displace roles, it will also create entirely new categories of work that we cannot yet imagine. They view AI as a tool to augment human capability rather than a total replacement.
Final Thought
Schulman’s 30% prediction serves as a wake-up call for a corporate world that often prefers to talk about “synergy” and “efficiency” rather than the human cost of automation. Whether his numbers are an overestimation or a prescient warning, he has fundamentally changed the conversation from if AI will change the workforce to how fast we can survive the transition.
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In: Business Stories · Tagged with: AI job loss, Unemployment
