55% of CEOs in America intend to increase employment thanks to artificial intelligence

A new survey conducted by the global consulting company (KPMG) Concerns about artificial intelligence replacing human jobs may be exaggerated in the near term, as results showed that the vast majority of leaders of major American companies are moving toward hiring rather than laying off workers.

According to a survey conducted by the company regarding the trends of CEOs in the United States for the year 2026, the results of which were published by Axios, 55% of CEOs expect employment to increase during the current year as a direct result of the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, while 36% of them confirmed that they do not expect any change in the size of their workforce. On the other hand, only 9% indicated plans to reduce employment.

Investment and technical integration

Despite great optimism about the capabilities of artificial intelligence in the long term (from 5 to 10 years), the results in the short term fell below expectations.

In this context, Tim Walsh, CEO of the company, said: KPMGsaying: “Currently, the majority of companies cannot see a direct return on their investments in artificial intelligence. The biggest challenge lies in the slow integration of these advanced technologies into existing institutional systems and processes, which requires a fundamental change in the usual ways of working.”

Cyber ​​risks

Beyond operational challenges, the survey highlighted growing concern about the security threats that accompany the AI ​​revolution; Nearly 90% of CEOs expressed serious concern about phishing attacks and AI-powered malware. About 60% also expressed their fear of future threats that quantum computing may pose (Quantum Computing) on the security of encrypted data.

Survey methodology

The survey was conducted during the period from January 26 to February 17, 2026, and included 100 CEOs of major American companies whose annual revenues exceed $500 million, which reflects the trends of an influential segment that leads the business and economic landscape.