Remote work may threaten jobs more than AI

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — A Gallup survey of more than 23,000 US workers found that remote workers are nearly twice as likely to be among the recently laid off as currently employed adults, and just 1% of laid-off workers named AI as the primary cause of their job loss.

Remote workers are overrepresented in layoffs

A February 2026 Gallup survey of more than 23,000 US adults found that fully remote employees account for 25% of the recently laid off — nearly double their 13% share among currently employed adults, a disparity Gallup described as ‘a disproportionate share.’

The technology sector showed the same pattern: 13% of laid-off respondents previously worked in tech, roughly double the 6% share among the currently employed.

The survey captured a labor market in transition: 21% of workers reported their employer was downsizing, compared with 34% who said hiring was underway — figures consistent with Bureau of Labor Statistics reports of sectoral volatility in the same period.

When remote workers are twice as likely to be among the recently laid off as their on-site counterparts, remote work’s concentration in the roles most exposed to restructuring becomes a distinct employment risk.

But not using AI is also a risk factor

Gallup found a ‘statistically significant’ difference in AI usage between workers who kept their jobs and those who lost them: 28% of currently employed workers are frequent AI users, against just 22% of the recently laid off.

Just 1% of laid-off workers named AI or automation as the primary reason for their job loss, with most pointing to organizational restructuring or cost-cutting. Tech workers who used AI less than monthly were three times more likely to be laid off than those who used it at least monthly — a 3x gap in AI adoption correlated with retention rates.

Sixty-two percent of laid-off workers are non-users of AI, compared with 50% of currently employed workers — a 12-point gap that Gallup flags as statistically significant. The risk for remote workers is not AI itself — it is organizations restructuring around AI, and remote workers without AI skills are the most exposed in that process.

For BPO providers whose workforces are by definition remote from their clients, the Gallup data reinforces a core offshore industry principle: AI proficiency is the variable separating retained workers from restructured ones.

Philippine offshore teams tracked by IBPAP in technology, finance, and professional services face the same AI-adoption imperative — integrate AI tools into daily workflows or accept a measurably higher replacement risk.

The Gallup findings do not indict remote work — they establish that remote work without AI adoption compounds job insecurity, making AI upskilling a workforce resilience strategy, not just a productivity play.