In Depth: How AI Is Rewiring White-Collar Work in China

“Did you know? My mom got laid off!”

Wu Qiong’s daughter leaned toward a classmate at kindergarten, eager to share the “news.”

The child did not understand the gravity of a layoff. To her, it was simply the latest novelty in her mother’s life.

For Wu, the moment carried a painful mix of heartache and dark humor. In April, her employer — a web-development firm that had pivoted to artificial intelligence a year earlier — slashed its workforce. Wu estimated that more than 60% of employees were laid off, while her 50-person department was eliminated entirely.