justified

Artificial intelligence is already showing signs of being the most transformative element of the productive fabric since the Industrial Revolution, even more than the arrival of the Internet. This means that its arrival has a direct impact on million jobs that will no longer be necessary or will be changed by others of new creation. This transformation of the labor market will not be something that happens in a few years: AI is already reducing hiring of the youngest and is behind many layoffs. China, one of the main actors in the race for AI, has put a limit on AI: its use will not be a justified reason to fire employees. Limit on layoffs due to AI in China. In a publication The Commission for Arbitration of Labor and Personnel Disputes lays down case law on whether the adoption of AI by companies can be considered a justified reason for dismissing an employee. The decision has its origins in the case of a worker who had been collecting manual data for maps in a technology company since 2009. Last year, the company implemented a system that automated that same task using AI. As a result, the company eliminated his department and fired him for alleged drastic change in working conditions. The arbitration commission ruled that this dismissal was unfair because the deployment of AI is a voluntary business decision to gain competitiveness, and does not represent a justifiable reason under its labor regulations. Therefore, the company had to compensate the employee and was recommended to negotiate contracts or relocate the affected personnel to another position. Chinese labor law leaves no room for AI. In China, the law allows contracts to be terminated only if there is a major objective change that makes it impossible to continue developing that position, such as force majeure or public policy closures. That is, if the collection of this data had been prohibited by law, his dismissal without compensation would be justified, but not for applying business strategies aimed at improving the company’s productivity, such as deploying AI or purchasing new machinery. The arbitration court’s decision recognizes that these technological changes may “lead to adjustments in the employment structure,” but “do not present the characteristics of force majeure and unpredictability required by ‘objective circumstances’.” That is to say, it is legitimate for them to be applied, but companies must assume the payment of severance pay. collected in the Labor Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China, which establishes the payment of one month’s salary per year worked. Social responsibility of AI implementation. Chinese Arbitration Commission ruling recognizes that companies can deploy AI to improve your productivitybut forces them to “simultaneously assume the corresponding social responsibilities, achieving a harmonious balance between the application of technology and the protection of workers’ rights.” The ruling emphasizes that companies cannot let the weight of technological innovation fall on their employees, so, instead of firing them, they must offer training in the new technologies they implement or in new positions to balance technical progress with labor rights. AI claims thousands of jobs in the US. Labor legislation in the US has not been so protectionist with employment. According to a report from the consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas AI has been the reason for the dismissal of 48,414 employees in 2025, with the technology sector being the most affected for this reason, with restructuring due to the integration of AI or by improve efficiency in its development. ​In the United States, most states (except Montanafor example) follow the doctrine of “at-will” employment, which allows tech companies to fire engineers or other employees for any non-illegal reason, including adopting AI to automate tasks. It is not necessary to justify with specific causes as in other countries, as long as there is no discrimination based on race, age or gender. Europe and Spain closer to China’s approach. In Europe, or more specifically in Spain, labor regulations do not contemplate the implementation of new technologies as a valid justification for the dismissal of workers, so they go associated with the payment of compensation for unfair dismissal or the legislation that regulates Employment Regulation Files (ERE) That does not mean that Europe (or Spain) is immune to the impact of AI. In fact, according to what was published for him Financial TimesEuropean banks could eliminate around 200,000 jobs by 2030 due to AI automation and branch closures, equivalent to 10% of the workforce of 35 large entities. In Xataka | We believed that AI was going to retire an entire generation of workers early. The opposite is happening Image | Unsplash (aboodi vesakaran, Arif Riyanto)