Amid growing anxiety that artificial intelligence (AI) could replace jobs, a Chinese court has ruled that "dismissal based on AI advancement cannot be justified," sending ripples through the labor market.
"AI Adoption Is Not Grounds for Dismissal"… China's First Line in the Sand
According to Chinese media outlet Caixin on Sunday, the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Zhejiang Province ruled Friday in favor of a worker who had been dismissed on the grounds of AI technology adoption.
The plaintiff, surnamed Zhou, had been responsible for reviewing the quality of responses generated by AI large language models (LLMs).
The company proposed cutting his monthly salary from 25,000 yuan (about 5.42 million won) to 15,000 yuan (about 3.25 million won), citing "the need for project adjustments due to the impact of AI advancement." When Zhou refused, the company notified him of his dismissal.
The court's judgment was clear. The grounds for dismissal presented by the company did not meet the legal requirements such as deteriorating management conditions or elimination of job duties, and the mere introduction of technology cannot serve as grounds for "inability to fulfill a labor contract."
The court particularly emphasized that "the introduction of AI technology is merely voluntary innovation by a company, and cannot be regarded as an objective change in circumstances sufficient to terminate a labor contract."
It also clarified corporate responsibility, stating that "AI development should contribute to labor liberation and employment promotion, and must go hand in hand with the protection of workers' rights and interests."
The ruling is considered the first case to concretely define the direction of labor law in the AI era.
Big Tech Moves in the Opposite Direction… "Cutting Staff to Invest in AI"
However, global companies are moving in the opposite direction. In the United States, large-scale workforce reductions are becoming a reality to fund AI investments.
According to CNN and other outlets on Nov. 23, Meta recently decided to cut approximately 8,000 employees (about 10% of its total workforce) and canceled plans to hire 6,000 more.
Microsoft is also pushing early retirement for long-tenured employees representing about 7% of its total workforce. Amazon (16,000) and Block (4,000) are following similar patterns.
On the surface, companies cite "efficiency," but the market interprets this as a signal that AI has actually begun to replace workers.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the direction of change clear, saying, "Work that once required large teams can now be done by a single outstanding person."
Korea Is No Exception… "It's Not the Job That Changes, but the Work"
Changes are already underway in Korea as well.
In the financial sector, AI tellers and automation systems are spreading, reducing the number of branch staff. A bank official explained, "With the increase in non-face-to-face transactions and the adoption of AI, the role of new entry-level bankers itself is shrinking."
The same applies to the game and webtoon industries. As AI handles everything from characters, backgrounds, and coloring to script drafts, demand for support staff is declining.
However, some analysts view the change as "role restructuring" rather than complete replacement. The Bank of Korea (BOK) diagnosed in a report that "AI changes job structures and alters employment and wage paths rather than eliminating jobs themselves."
High-income professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants were cited as occupations most affected by AI.
In contrast, journalists, professors, and artists are relatively less affected, although repetitive tasks such as drafting and research are also being rapidly replaced in these fields.
The Bank of Korea and overseas researchers commonly analyze that "AI affects work by changing the content and structure of tasks rather than making specific occupations disappear overnight," adding that "wage and employment paths are likely to be gradually reorganized, particularly in occupations with high AI exposure."
