(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

As Amazon confirmed another round of corporate job cut this week - part of a sweeping global shift toward automation and artificial intelligence - UAE recruitment experts say the same wave is“definitely coming our way.”

Zaid Al Hiali, co-founder of Marc Ellis Consulting and Training, said what began in the US with tech giants like Amazon and Meta will soon ripple through the Gulf job market.

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“This is definitely a wave that is coming our way 100 per cent,” said Al Hiali.“What is happening in the US - at Amazon, for instance - started there and will pass by all of us. Technologies are being introduced, not just in operations jobs, but even tech jobs like software engineering. You can ask AI to do a full website, and it can deliver in seconds. So, many will be let go because AI is taking jobs.”

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Al Hiali said employees across industries must urgently“upscale” to avoid being replace.“If you have ten administrators in one company, maybe you will only need two or three,” he explained.“It's scary, really, but this is what we already see.” He cited his own experience working with an AI-based“designer review” system that replaced what used to be a team of ten engineers manually reviewing technical maps.“Now we feed the maps into the system - it automatically compares them to standards and releases the comments,” he said.“The work of ten engineers now gets done in a few minutes.”

According to Al Hiali, similar digital transitions are already happening in oil and gas, banking, and the broader tech sector. In the Gulf, he said, AI adoption is also influencing Emiratisation strategies.“Many companies struggle to meet Emiratisation targets - there aren't enough Emiratis for these jobs,” he said.“Before, they would hire them for entry-level roles like call centres and gradually upgrade them. Now, these functions are being replaced by AI completely. You'll have AI agents calling customers in any accent or language - faster and cheaper than humans.”

He warned that the impact will grow over the next two years, even if much of it remains discreet.“Give it two years - you will see massive layoffs,” he said.“These things are done quietly because it brings bad publicity. Amazon is a public company, so it was exposed. But internally, I already see it with my clients. Every company we're working with has an AI agenda.”

However, Al Hiali noted that some employers are taking a more ethical approach by retraining staff rather than replacing them outright.“One of our biggest clients is asking engineers to upscale themselves to AI,” he said.“Rather than laying off 200 employees, they're training them - because they're an asset to the business.” He added that cost is a major factor driving AI adoption:“Hypothetically speaking, if a software engineer with five to seven years' experience earns Dh25,000 a month. Ten of them cost Dh250,000. An AI system can perform that work at 20 to 30 per cent of the price. It doesn't get sick or take leave - it works 24/7.”

AI as an enabler, not replacer

Al Hiali's business partner and Marc Ellis co-founder, Aws Ismail, agreed that AI is transforming the workplace - but said it should be seen as a tool to enhance productivity rather than eliminate job.“I'm one of the people who think AI should be an enabler, not a replacer,” said Ismail.“Even Meta, one of the biggest companies in the world, has replaced many development teams with AI. We also use it extensively in our business, but the aim was never to replace somebody.”

He said AI can dramatically improve efficiency when used correctly.“I have a friend who owns a logistics business - he had a sales team of 20 people handling customer queries,” Ismail said.“He replaced them with an AI system that now answers leads automatically. His team went from 20 to two humans, and the business is thriving more than ever.” Still, he cautioned that employees who simply rely on AI without developing their own thinking risk becoming obsolete.

“Many people use ChatGPT to replace the way they think,” he said.“If you're just copy-pasting what it tells you, you're easily replaceable.” But if one uses it to guide their thinking by providing more options and better research material, they become more valuable. At Marc Ellis, Ismail said AI has actually led to hiring growth rather than cuts.“As a business, we've increased our team size,” he said.“We've hired more people who can help us use AI better.”

The company was also the first in the region to launch an AI recruiter - an automated calling agent that screens candidates and forwards shortlisted profiles to human recruiters.“It calls candidates, checks their CVs, verifies experience, and qualifies them dynamically,” Ismail explained.“Our speed has gone up by 40 per cent since we launched it. We've been training it for two years to act like a human recruiter, and it keeps learning.”

AI recruiters win over jobseekers

For candidates like Sakina Abdulhusein, a 25-year-old graphic designer, being interviewed by AI turned out to be surprisingly positive.“My experience with Sarah AI was great,” she said.“It took me a minute to realise I was talking to a bot - and when I did, I actually felt more confident and less intimidated.”

Abdulhusein said the AI interviewer asked detailed questions about her design skills, software knowledge, and workplace approach.“It even gave me a specific deadline for when I'd hear back,” she said.“I got a call the next day for a face-to-face interview and was hired after that. Considering how long traditional interviews take, I feel this technology represents the future.”

Similarly, Joshua Limcaoco, 25, a content strategist at DMS, said his AI-led interview was“easier” than speaking to a human.“It spoke with the cadence of a real person,” he said.“It gave me time to answer, responded accurately, and even commented on what I said. It also asked how I was doing and if I was ready to take the call - it showed empathy.”

Limcaoco said the system's neutrality helped him relax.“I realised it understood me objectively and didn't show bias,” he said.“By the end, I actually felt more confident. I didn't have to worry about tone or body language - I could just focus on what I wanted to say.”

The future of work in the UAE

While large-scale layoffs have not yet hit the UAE, experts believe it is only a matter of time.“We're still adopting these technologies regionally,” Ismail said.“The biggest layoffs now are in the US because they've been using AI longer. But there will be a similar pattern if people don't make themselves valuable.”

For now, both recruiters agree on one message: learn AI before it replaces you.“The smart employee will say, 'I will be replaced at some point, so let me go upscale myself,'” said Al Hiali.“Awareness is key - whoever works hard on themselves now will be at ease later.”

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