California to Subsidize Firms Retaining Workers Amid AI Layoffs

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an "AI-based customized news recommendation and summary service" developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.

1. California Pushes Subsidies for Firms Retaining Workers to Prevent AI-Driven Layoffs

- Key Summary: California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order to push forward subsidies for companies that maintain employment to prevent layoffs caused by AI. The core of the plan is for state agencies, academia, labor groups, and the AI industry to collaborate on researching support measures for companies that do not replace employees with AI, and it also includes the expansion of vocational training programs centered on white-collar occupations such as customer service, software development, and marketing—where jobs are expected to disappear due to AI. The New York Times assessed that the executive order "directs policy exploration rather than concrete measures," but added that "it reflects the growing global anxiety over AI-driven restructuring." With Anthropic's co-founder forecasting that about half of white-collar jobs could disappear within five years, analysts say job seekers preparing to enter customer service, marketing, and IT will inevitably need to secure AI collaboration skills.

2. "Suffering from Annual Bonus Disputes"…Major Overhaul Inevitable for Manufacturing AX and Hiring Roadmaps

- Key Summary: Korea's top four conglomerates—Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG—are expanding AI and robot adoption across the board, from simple production lines to master's- and doctoral-level R&D personnel, in response to performance bonus burdens and the implementation of the Yellow Envelope Act. Hyundai Motor plans to produce the humanoid 'Atlas' at a scale of 30,000 units per year starting in 2028 and deploy them in its own factories, with annual maintenance costs per unit reportedly at 14 million won—one-tenth of the 130 million won per-person labor cost. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) are pushing to build AI fabs that will boost semiconductor production efficiency by 50% by 2030, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180.KS) aims to complete a smart shipyard that shortens shipbuilding time by 30%. According to the Korea Labor Institute, the number of young employees at companies adopting AI had already fallen to 92–93% of 2022 levels by 2024, and analysts say the scope of AI replacement is spreading from simple production roles to research positions as well.

3. Quantum Industry Also Gets Trump-Style Nurturing…U.S. Government Secures Corporate Stakes

- Key Summary: The Trump administration has expanded its 'Trump-style technology nurturing' model to the quantum field by providing $2 billion (about 3 trillion won) to nine quantum computing companies including IBM, Rigetti, and D-Wave, while also securing equity stakes. According to IBM estimates, quantum computing is expected to generate up to $850 billion in economic value by 2040, and McKinsey analyzed that private investment in 2025 surged 6.3-fold from the previous year to $12.6 billion. China has elevated quantum technology to one of seven future industries in its 15th Five-Year Plan, and Origin Quantum recorded over 20 million cloud accesses from 145 countries in the first year of releasing its 72-qubit commercial processor. With the U.S.-China tech hegemony competition spreading into the quantum field, analysts say it is time for Korean companies to review related technology trends and the possibility of joining supply chains.

4. 45 Trillion Won in Policy Funds Pouring In…Sluggish KOSDAQ Soars 5%

- Key Summary: As sales of the Lee Jae-myung administration's National Growth Fund get underway in earnest, large-scale policy funds are expected to flow into the KOSDAQ market, which is centered on advanced strategic industries such as AI, semiconductors, biotech, robotics, and secondary batteries. The National Growth Fund will be raised at a scale of 150 trillion won over five years, including 3 trillion won in public funds, and is designed to invest 30% of its assets in KOSDAQ and unlisted stocks and 60% in advanced strategic industries. The government has decided to incorporate the KOSDAQ index at a 5% weighting in the operational benchmark for 67 pension funds totaling 1,400 trillion won, and the pension funds' KOSDAQ investment scale is expected to expand from the current 5 trillion–6 trillion won to more than 10 trillion–20 trillion won. Analysts say job seekers aiming for employment in advanced industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotech, IT, robotics, and aerospace may see changes in investment expansion and hiring trends at companies in those sectors.