Welcome to MoneyNerd! The rise of AI has stoked job fears across industries, but it’s workers at tech businesses themselves who appear to be first on the chopping block, as companies like Amazon cite AI spending as a reason for layoffs.
And speaking of AI:
Those using it at work risk burnout, a study finds.
Also this week:
A NerdWallet writer bricks her phone — and saves hundreds.
NerdWallet’s senior economist answers questions about the Iran war and the economy.
Our Smart Money podcast digs into dwindling returns from the CFPB.
Plus: Money Tips and more!
Do Meta layoffs herald more AI‑driven job cuts ahead?
Layoffs are piling up as major tech companies reorganize themselves for the AI era.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Meta was considering a 20% reduction of its global staff — around 15,000 employees — in 2026 as it ramps up AI infrastructure.
Tech layoffs have been building in recent years, though the pace has slowed. The total number of tech layoffs in 2025 was 124,201 across 271 companies according to layoffs.fyi, which tracks job cuts in the tech industry. That’s down from 152,922 tech employees laid off from 551 companies in 2024, and 264,320 workers across 1,193 companies in 2023.
So far in 2026, roughly 60 tech companies have laid off just under 40,000 workers — that’s not including the potential Meta cuts. The consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported in February that U.S. companies have cited AI in roughly 8% of layoff plans so far this year — about 12,000 reports.
Several major companies have openly cited AI research and development priorities as the catalyst for job cuts.
In January, Amazon laid off 16,000 workers after cutting 14,000 jobs last fall. Reports suggest another round of 14,000 layoffs could happen in the second quarter of 2026.
In February, Block — led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey — cut 4,000 jobs, or about 40% of its staff.
On March 11, Atlassian laid off 1,600 workers.
This week, reports said that Oracle has plans to lay off around 20,000 to 30,000 workers.
On March 16, Dell said it reduced its global staff by 10% or nearly 11,000 workers.
Those are just the latest announcements — and likely not the last. But the full impact on the labor market is unclear.
Last May, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted that AI could push unemployment up 10% to 20% over the next five years, hitting entry-level white-collar roles the hardest.
Other forecasts are less severe. In August, Goldman Sachs projected that 6% to 7% of jobs could be eliminated when AI adoption is widespread, though the timeline is unclear.
Even so, Goldman Sachs also said that workers are likely to shift into new roles rather than exit the workforce entirely. That doesn’t mean the transition will be seamless, and AI-driven displacement is still likely to create short-term financial challenges.
Which jobs are most exposed to AI automation?
In a March 5 report, Anthropic reported the roles most exposed to AI:
Computer programmers.
Customer service representatives.
Data entry keyers.
Medical record specialists.
Market research analysts & marketing specialists.
Sales representatives (wholesale & manufacturing).
Financial and investment analysts.
Software quality assurance (QA) analysts/testers.
Information security analysts.
Computer user support specialists.
What can workers do now?
For now, the safest bet is to focus on adaptability in the AI era — workers who adopt new technology early tend to fare better in labor market transitions. But as my colleague Kate Ashford explains below, there are trade-offs to speeding up your work.
Bad news: AI use at work may lead to employee burnout
AI can make it easier and faster for people to get things done at work — and it does — but research suggests it may come with side effects.
In an eight-month study of generative AI and how it affected the work habits of employees at a U.S.-based tech company, Harvard researchers found that people worked faster, took on a wider range of responsibilities and expanded their working hours — all without being asked.
The risk: Burnout.
“Over time, overwork can impair judgment, increase the likelihood of errors, and make it harder for organizations to distinguish genuine productivity gains from unsustainable intensity,” researchers Aruna Ranganathan and Xingqi Maggie Ye write. “For workers, the cumulative effect is fatigue, burnout, and a growing sense that work is harder to step away from.”
In other words, AI can help workers do more in less time, which can reset expectations about how much they should be doing in the first place.
To keep this work intensification at bay, the researchers recommend that organizations create clear AI usage guidelines that set norms and expectations around output and availability.
Three mindset shifts I didn’t expect when I ‘bricked’ my phone
In February, I challenged myself to spend less money by adding some friction between me and my usual smartphone habits. Between 5 and 9 p.m. on weeknights, I used a device called a Brick — a Christmas gift from my husband — to block shopping and social media apps. I noticed these were peak “scrolling” hours for me because my work day was over, the kids were home from school, and my mind needed a break from the demands of the day. So, I turned to my phone more often than I’d like to admit.
By distancing myself from one-click purchases, stores’ latest arrivals and influencer’s curated shopping links I achieved my financial goal — I cut my personal spending in half compared to the previous month. That was almost $300 that went straight to my sinking funds for an upcoming Disney trip and a home improvement project.
Beyond achieving my goal, there were three mindset shifts that caught me off guard:
Browsing in-store lost its appeal, when it had formerly been a way to treat myself.
Having a specific savings goal in mind was more motivating — and more effective — than my previous promises to myself to just “save.”
It didn’t feel that hard to achieve these results. Truthfully, the friction felt more like a redirection than a restriction.
Sure, there were a few times when the Brick settings kicked in at an inconvenient moment, but mostly I was able to turn my attention to the things that mattered more — my kids, my hobbies and healthy digital routines.
Iran war is an economic wild card — what’s at stake?
(Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty News Images)
The war in Iran is already hitting Americans where it hurts: gas prices. With oil above $100 a barrel and climbing, gas prices have risen 32% in the last month as a result of disruptions to the shipping of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
But gas prices won’t be the only impact. To make sense of a chaotic picture of economic uncertainty and unpack out how the war could impact your household’s finances, we turned to our resident senior economist Elizabeth Renter to make sense of a chaotic picture of economic uncertainty.
The economy was already dealing with a lot of uncertainty before this. How much does the war with Iran actually change the outlook?
War certainly complicates the already complex economic picture. Over the past year, there have been many reasons for general economic uncertainty among consumers, business owners and even economists and policy makers. The ability to determine where the economy will be in the near future (and thus what decisions you should be making now) is really dependent on things being fairly predictable or at least similar to conditions we’ve experienced in the past. The current conditions and potential outcomes are unique and subject to change pretty quickly. That was true before this conflict started, but the many reverberations of war can tangle things in new ways.
Energy prices are the obvious first impact — but how does that ripple out? Walk me through how a spike in oil prices eventually shows up somewhere like grocery bills.
The most obvious place consumers feel a shock to the oil supply is in prices at the pump. Many of us fill our tanks frequently, or at least see these prices rising on streetside signs on our commutes. But this also has a fairly quick impact on goods prices, including groceries. Whether they’re transported via air or 18-wheeler, our groceries rely on fuel to make it to store shelves. And when retailer costs rise due to higher transport costs, they tend to pass this along to consumers in the form of higher prices. Even before transport, however, many goods producers use fuel in the manufacturing process, and those costs can be passed along too. This is also true for agriculture, where farm machinery and fertilizer depend on energy prices. When costs rise at nearly every stage of production, it’s easy to see how consumer prices can be hit from several angles.
For someone just trying to make sense of the headlines — what should ordinary people actually be paying attention to right now?
The best thing households can do in times of economic uncertainty is revisit their emergency fund. Whether prices rise or your hours are reduced at work, an emergency fund can make a huge difference in your resilience. Second, address your budget. If you don’t have an ample emergency fund, consider cutting out some unnecessary expenses to create some wiggle room should unexpected expenses or higher prices arise. If you’re watching the headlines to see where all of this is headed, pay attention to how long the conflict might last. This will be key to the extent of the impact across the economy, including household finances.
Wondering how the war could impact inflation and the labor market — and if there is a recession ahead? Read the full interview here.
- A.H.
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ProPublica: Credit report errors linger under weakened watchdog
In the news segment of the latest Smart Money podcast, NerdWallet news writer Anna Helhoski talks to Joel Jacobs, data reporter at ProPublica, about his reporting on weaker Consumer Financial Protection Bureau oversight and credit bureau complaint handling. They discuss falling relief rates at Experian and TransUnion, how errors can damage borrowing and housing options, and what records to keep when you challenge a mistake.
Watch below or get the audio version.
Here’s a look at what the Nerds covered this week:
Are you spaving? If you don’t know the answer to that question, it might be time to check out personal finance writer Kate Ashford’s latest story.
Life insurers are fact-checking your application. Insurers now use real-time data to verify your information. Insurance Nerd Elizabeth Aldrich explained how this can mean faster approvals, but it can also mean delays if your application gets flagged.
Schools are using field trips to promote financial literacy. NerdWallet spokesperson Kimberly Palmer joined her son on one such field trip, and explained how it works.
The Nerds explored the average cost of groceries — and how you can lower that cost with simple savings tips.
Personal finance writer Lauren Schwahn answered the question: Are you a HENRY?
The Credit Card Nerds covered lots of news, including Ford launching a credit card with Bread Financial and three cards in the Marriott Bonvoy family featuring new welcome offers.
Elsewhere in money news:
Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is coming back on March 25. (Today)
How much money is Travis Kelce getting paid in his new contract with the Chiefs? (People)
President Donald Trump waived a U.S. shipping law for 60 days to help stabilize the oil market. (CNBC)
Your MoneyNerd team: Courtney Neidel, Anna Helhoski, Rick VanderKnyff.
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Until next week,
