Workers fired for AI are coming back to work and negotiating

SHL research and a Propeller Insights survey describe the trend of 'AI rebounding': 19% of workers in the US and 13% in the UK have encountered the return of employees who were laid off for automation, who are demanding higher salaries and job security guarantees for their return.

Compiled by Sergey KostenchukPublished 2026-11-01Updated 2026-11-01

2026-11-01 Business

💼 Workers fired for AI are coming back to work and negotiating

SHL described the trend of 'AI rebounding': companies fire people for automation, but later bring them back—AI is not meeting expectations. According to a Propeller Insights survey (2,036 workers in the US and UK), 19% of Americans and 13% of Britons have encountered 'boomerang' employees.

🌍 Companies fire without assessing actual skills, then overpay for rehiring. Those who return negotiate: 51% demand a salary increase, 42% demand job security guarantees, 40% demand transparency in AI usage, and 8% do not return. These are self-reports, and the methodology has not been disclosed.

👤 Returning on previous terms has disappeared. Document the skills that AI does not replace: business context, judgment, client work—and monitor which tasks in your role are being automated.

Source 1: https://www.shl.com/about/news-and-events/press-releases/workers-replaced-by-ai-would-demand-higher-pay-and-greater-job-security-to-return-shl-research-finds/

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