Kraków, Poland--(Newsfile Corp. - June 25, 2026) - Omni Calculator, a technology and research company based in Kraków, Poland, today announced the publication of its Ghost Downsizing AI Survey 2026, a new research report examining how artificial intelligence is affecting workforce planning, hiring decisions, workload distribution, and employee perceptions across U.S. workplaces.

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The report is based on parallel surveys of 665 employed U.S. adults and 354 C-suite executives. Omni Calculator said the mirrored survey structure was designed to compare employee experiences with executive-level decision-making as organizations continue integrating artificial intelligence into business operations.

The survey identifies an emerging workforce pattern that Omni Calculator refers to as "ghost downsizing." The term describes a form of workforce reduction in which companies do not necessarily announce large formal layoffs, but instead leave roles unfilled after employee departures while redistributing work among remaining staff. According to the report, this approach may allow organizations to maintain or increase output without proportional headcount growth.

One of the survey's central findings is a gap between employee and executive perceptions of workforce compression. Among employees surveyed, 30% said their team had shrunk while workload either increased or stayed the same. By comparison, 10% of executives reported the same pattern. The report also found that 43% of employees and 53% of executives said artificial intelligence had not affected hiring in their organizations.

Omni Calculator's report states that these findings suggest some AI-linked workforce changes may be occurring through hiring pauses, unfilled vacancies, and workload redistribution rather than through highly visible layoff announcements. The company said the research is intended to help employers, employees, analysts, and the broader public better understand how AI adoption is appearing inside organizations before it is reflected in formal workforce-reduction disclosures.

The technology and media sector showed the highest level of workforce change among the industries covered in the survey. In that sector, 38% of workers reported team compression, while 28% reported team growth. Among technology executives surveyed, 17% said they were actively reducing headcount through AI-related changes, and 11% reported implementing hiring freezes. Overall, 56% of technology executives said they were currently operating or actively planning AI-driven workforce changes over the next three years.

By contrast, the report found that some sectors remain less affected in the near term. In healthcare, 75% of executives surveyed said AI had not affected hiring decisions. Omni Calculator said the difference between technology and healthcare responses points to uneven AI adoption across industries, job types, and operating environments.

The survey also highlights differences by work arrangement. Fully remote workers were found to be significantly more likely than fully on-site workers to fear skill obsolescence within three years. The report states that this finding was statistically significant, with p = 0.000000000385. Remote employees also reported the highest fear of job loss at 73%, while hybrid employees reported the highest level of AI-related empowerment at 62%, compared with 41% among fully remote workers.

The report further found that remote employees reported algorithmic surveillance at more than three times the rate of on-site employees, at 10% compared with 3%. Omni Calculator said these findings may reflect the extent to which remote work is mediated through digital systems, measurable outputs, and software-based monitoring tools.

Income level also emerged as a notable factor in the survey. Workers earning under $60,000 annually were nearly three times more likely to report actively planning a career exit due to automation than workers earning more than $100,000 annually, at 11% compared with 4%. The survey found that higher-income workers were more likely to view AI as a productivity tool, while lower-income workers were more likely to view it as a direct employment risk.

The report also examined how companies are preparing employees for AI-related workplace changes. Only 23% of surveyed organizations reported having a formal AI preparation program with a dedicated budget. Another 40% reported handling AI transition efforts on an ad hoc basis. Communication gaps were especially visible in customer-facing and clinical settings, where 23% of retail executives and 19% of healthcare executives said their organizations had not communicated AI integration plans to staff.

Among large enterprises with 5,000 or more employees, the report found lower levels of broad workforce receptivity. In that group, 27% of executives reported broad receptivity to AI-related change, while 69% said they were actively managing worker resistance.

Despite differences between employee and executive responses, the survey found overlap in how both groups identify roles and skills that may be less exposed to automation. Physical or hands-on work was selected by 58% of workers and 58% of executives as a protective factor. Strong interpersonal communication skills were selected by 55% of workers and 51% of executives. Executives placed a higher value on creativity and strategic thinking, with 38% selecting it as a protective factor, compared with 27% of employees.

Omni Calculator said the report is accompanied by its AI Job Risk Calculator, which is designed to help users evaluate how factors such as occupation, experience level, salary, location, and work mode may influence exposure to AI-related job changes.

About Omni Calculator

Omni Calculator is a technology and research company based in Kraków, Poland. The company operates a library of more than 3,800 calculators designed to help users make data-informed decisions across a range of professional and everyday topics. Omni Calculator also publishes original research and benchmarking studies focused on emerging technologies, labor trends, and economic change.

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