This is the question that US talk show host Jimmy Fallon put to Microsoft Founder and philanthropist Bill Gates in March 2025, when interviewing the latter about the impact of AI.
This response echoes the predictions of many that AI will eliminate a raft of jobs. In 2024, a UK think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, suggested that, in the worst-case scenario, 7.9m UK jobs could be wiped out by AI. Back-office, entry-level and part-time roles are most at risk.
For some time, such predictions have found little supporting real-world evidence. But since the beginning of 2025, some large businesses have announced entry-level hiring cuts. Critically, they cite AI as a driving factor.
UK professional services multinational PwC announced in September 2025 that 200 fewer graduates and school-leavers would join its UK offices this year. A month earlier, Business Insider reported that the number of entry-level associates at PwC’s US business would decline by almost a third by 2028. The rest of the Big Four are showing similar patterns.
Unfortunately for today’s students, this trend isn’t endemic to professional services. Job search website Adzuna found that the number of entry-level job postings in the UK have declined 32% since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. This includes graduate roles, non-graduate junior roles, apprenticeships, and internships.
It’s too early to tell whether this is a structural change or simply a temporary trend caused by economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Either way, executives are eyeing the potential savings from cutting entry-level roles.
But any executive considering slashing entry-level roles should be aware of the potential severity of the consequences. The main risk arises from weakening the pipeline of future managers and even executive-level leadership. Underlining this, even the executive announcing PwC’s reduction in entry-level roles had joined the firm as a graduate.
Entry-level employees can learn how the organization works while acquiring basic workplace skills such as time management and effective communication. While the tasks they are carrying out at this stage may not require great experience or expertise, allowing humans to fulfil the roles enables an invaluable learning experience that organizations can consider the initial training of their future leaders.
Former Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe often recalls his formative years in the company’s ice cream sales division in Vienna, suggesting this early proximity to the customer gave him insight that has proven invaluable later in his career. These experiences taught him how the weather can affect demand and the impact of supply chain disruption. As a result, he was better equipped as an executive to understand and constructively challenge colleagues on topics such as revenue forecasts and inventory management. He also had greater empathy for customer-facing employees.
Junior roles, which intrinsically operate further from head office, can give a clearer view of which leaders are aspirational figures and which young executives don’t want to emulate.
Junior roles can also provide an opportunity for young minds that have not been institutionalized to experiment in a psychologically safe environment, where managers recognize that mistakes are a necessary aspect of innovation. Leaders can encourage positive risk-taking in low-consequence scenarios while gently tempering reckless behaviors.
Entry-level roles also help employees to work out their strengths and weaknesses, which can, in turn, guide them towards the area of the business to which they are best suited. This will help them get the most from the business and vice versa.
“Reverse mentoring programs in which junior employees educate senior staff about contemporary tastes and attitudes can be very effective.”
A strong cohort of entry-level workers also offers benefits for older colleagues. The latter can learn about the attitudes and preferences held by those younger employees. Claims that the views of Gen Z and Millennials are irreconcilable are exaggerated, but there are some important distinctions of which areas of the business such as marketing, for example, should be aware.
Ice-cream is a good example. Businesses market this product very differently today than 20 years ago. Reverse mentoring programs in which junior employees educate senior staff about contemporary tastes and attitudes can be very effective. But without entry-level workers, they can’t exist.
Most businesses design entry-level roles in line with the short-term demands of the business. Moving forward, they must be viewed as a means by which to furnish future leaders.
The necessary attributes of future leaders are also different than they were 20 years ago. Twenty years from now, they will have changed again. The trends that we are all reading about, from maturing AI and geopolitical volatility to economic uncertainty and climate crises, will demand future leaders who are adaptable, fluent in the use of digital technology, and able to empathize with the fears and uncertainties of the workforce.
CHROs should work with their C-suite colleagues to craft entry-level roles that cultivate these skills and provide the right formal training. Regular reviews of training programs can help ensure relevancy and effectiveness.
One example is in developing critical thinking – the ability to make judgments by analyzing information objectively and challenging any false assumptions and biases. For all its advantages, the inherent flaws in AI have made these skills essential toleadership.
Entry-level workers can hone such skills in a variety of ways. For example, a junior employee working in manufacturing could be tasked with writing a weekly sales report. This will require that they dive into the underlying data, identify trends and report anomalies. They may even demonstrate a keen eye for spotting the causes of deviations from forecasted results.
But this will entail a shift in mindset. Most businesses design entry-level roles in line with the short-term demands of the business. Moving forward, they must be viewed as a means by which to furnish future leaders with the requisite skills.
There’s a lot of noise that AI will soon eliminate a number of jobs–administrative support, call-center operatives, and perhaps one day even talk show hosts. There may be short-term financial benefits, but executives taking the knife to entry-level roles should be wary of draining the future leadership talent pool.
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