In 2025, the New York Department of Labor updated the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act system, asking businesses to disclose whether layoffs are related to artificial intelligence (AI). In the year since the change took effect, no business has reported AI as a reason for layoffs. This result points to one of two conclusions: either AI is not contributing to mass layoffs in New York, or AI is contributing to layoffs and businesses are not reporting it.
AI-Related Disclosure Added to New York’s WARN Act System
In January 2025, Governor Hochul directed the New York Department of Labor (NYS DOL) to gather additional data from employers that submit WARN notices. Specifically, when filing WARN notices, employers are now asked whether “technological innovation or automation” contributed to the reported layoffs. Employers report this by simply marking a checkbox on the form. If the box is checked, the employer is asked to name the technology responsible. The NYS DOL added the new AI-related disclosure to the system in March 2025.
One-Year Review
A little more than a year has passed since the NYS DOL implemented the change. Even though more than 160 different companies have filed WARN notices with the NYS DOL, not a single notice has attributed layoffs to AI technology or automation.
One conclusion to draw from the employers’ filed notices is that although businesses are increasingly adopting AI technology, mass layoffs may still be the result of...
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