# KPMG Survey: 53% of Big Company CEOs Plan Workforce Cuts as AI Reshapes Hiring

> A new KPMG survey of 400 large U.S. company CEOs finds 85% now rank cybercrime as the top threat to their business over the next three years, even as 53% plan workforce reductions and nearly nine in ten redesign roles around AI.

- Source: American Post News
- Canonical URL: https://americanpostnews.net/article/kpmg-survey-53-of-big-company-ceos-plan-workforce-cuts-as-ai-reshapes-hiring
- Author: staff
- Section: Economy
- Published: 2026-10-15T23:11:21.816Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T23:11:21.816Z
- Tags: KPMG, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Hiring

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KPMG's 2026 U.S. CEO Outlook, based on a survey of 400 chief executives at large U.S. companies, found that 85% now name cybercrime and cyber insecurity as the top risk to their company's prosperity over the next three years, ahead of every other threat measured. Nearly half, 48%, said they plan to increase cyber spending over that span, and 56% flagged cybersecurity as their biggest challenge in rolling out AI tools company wide.

AI itself is driving much of that worry. 78% of CEOs pointed to AI powered social engineering as a threat, 76% cited AI assisted malware and phishing, and 73% flagged data and privacy risks tied to AI agents operating inside their systems. A newer concern, quantum computing, has not caught up in awareness or budget: 62% of CEOs said they know encryption could eventually be broken by quantum attacks but are not prioritizing it, and just 4% currently have a plan to address the risk, even though 34% report increasing spending specifically because of it.

On the workforce side, the survey points to a reshaping more than a retreat. 53% of CEOs said they plan workforce reductions, up sharply from 35% a year earlier, while 86% are redesigning roles around human and AI collaboration, up from 65%. 83% said they are focused on retaining and retraining their highest potential employees, and 79% are actively hiring workers with AI and technical skills, both up from the year before. Despite the cuts many companies are planning, 89% of CEOs still expect their overall headcount to grow.

Tim Walsh, KPMG's U.S. chair and chief executive, said the scale of the shift sets AI apart from past technology disruptions. "I don't think AI is Y2K," Walsh said. "Something's happening and it's really, really big."

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Originally published by American Post News. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://americanpostnews.net/article/kpmg-survey-53-of-big-company-ceos-plan-workforce-cuts-as-ai-reshapes-hiring.