ServiceNow boss warns AI could push grad unemployment past 30%
- Reference: 1773665974
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/16/servicenow_grad_jobs_ai/
- Source link:
His views echo research findings that show organizations across the globe are slashing hiring for junior and entry-level positions.
[1]Speaking to CNBC , McDermott said it was natural to be concerned about jobs given the likely impact of AI agents on workforce planning and hiring, pointing to graduate unemployment rates, which sit at around 5.6 percent, according to [2]recent data .
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"It could easily go into the mid-30s in the next couple of years. What's happening now is that for the non-differentiating roles, so much of the work is going to be done by agents. It's going to be challenging for young people to differentiate themselves in the corporate environment," he said.
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McDermott also claimed that ServiceNow's AI platform could handle 90 percent of the tasks that humans provide in customer service. He said companies such as Pepsi, Panasonic, and Nvidia are already using the platform.
"That will definitely put a damper on how many people you need to hire," he opined.
[6]Purdue makes 'AI working competency' a graduation requirement
[7]Tech industry grad hiring crashes 46% as bots do junior work
[8]Managers are throwing entry-level workers under the bus in race to adopt AI
[9]AI robs jobs from recent college grads, but isn't hurting wages, Stanford study says
In October last year, a [10]study from the British Standards Institution found young college grads are being hit hardest by AI adoption. The survey of business leaders from eight countries around the world – including the UK and US – found that 39 percent have already reduced junior and entry-level headcount in favor of greater AI adoption. Another 43 percent expect to further reduce entry-level roles in the next year in favor of AI and 50 percent "specifically" said AI is helping them reduce headcount.
However, tech analyst group Gartner previously warned that disproportionate cuts to graduate jobs could have a long-term impact on workforce structure.
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Highlighting the danger of "pipeline choke," Gartner pointed out that mundane bits of work on which junior staff once cut their teeth would no longer be available in the same numbers, reducing the supply of more experienced staff in years to come.
"When a senior staff delegates to AI some of the work that juniors used to do... that approach captures value, but it can stall your growth, so pair it with a robust talent development strategy, or risk choking your future pipeline," [12]said Gabriela Vogel, Gartner VP analyst . ®
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[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/13/software-ai-agents-college-graduate-unemployment.html
[2] https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market#--:explore:unemployment
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2abg3NJGeiW4Oa0YAJkH0pgAAAkM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44abg3NJGeiW4Oa0YAJkH0pgAAAkM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33abg3NJGeiW4Oa0YAJkH0pgAAAkM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/purdue_require_ai_working_competency/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/16/uk_tech_grad_jobs/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/10/ai_is_displacing_entrylevel_professionals/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/26/ai_hurts_recent_college_grads_jobs/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/10/ai_is_displacing_entrylevel_professionals/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44abg3NJGeiW4Oa0YAJkH0pgAAAkM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/10/ai_credibility_buzzwords/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Hammer time
CEO of hammer company warns that 30% of carpenters could be unemployed because his new hammer drives nails so efficiently that nobody needs to hire apprentices to hold boards, sort stock, and clean up the workshop anymore. When asked how future master carpenters would learn their trade if no one lets them onto a building site in the first place, the hammer CEO said that was someone else's problem. He then reminded everyone that Pepsi uses his hammers.
There is so much AI washing of layoffs and slow hiring it's just easier to assume they're just talking out their backside until proven otherwise.
The cycle
Invest heavily in AI -> AI underperforms -> Slash headcount to reduce costs -> Invest heavily in AI to 'boost productivity' -> AI underperforms -> Slash headcount to reduce costs -> Invest heavily in AI to cover 'core roles' -> AI underperforms -> Slash headcount to reduce costs -> Panic
I wonder if there is any overlap between the 30% in this article and those who 'circle back' and 'synergize' in one of the other articles.
I think someone should turn this on it's head. Let AI replace C-Suite and see how much better it will run a company. Think how much money shareholders would (potentially) get when they don't have to pay exorbitant salaries to morons who run companies into the ground just to get their next bonus....
I will happily run a company into the ground for half the price of the other guy :) it will still be enough to retire for us normies.
Unemployment rates among recent graduates could climb above 30 percent because so many early career routine tasks will be performed by AI agents, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott has said.
McDermott also claimed that ServiceNow's AI platform could handle 90 percent of the tasks that humans used to have to in customer service.
In breaking news advertorials, companies claim that their product could (note "could", not "will") be worth what they want to charge for it.
In other news, today there is a widespread belief in the IT industry that >90% of salesdroids vastly oversell products compared to their actual demonstrable performance.