A state Senate committee is hoping to ready the Texas workforce for artificial intelligence as layoff concerns mount.
The Texas Senate Economic Development Committee gathered government, industry and educational leaders Tuesday to discuss how best to prepare Texas’ workforce to become more AI literate and bolster jobs. The discussion took place as state leaders prepare to set their legislative agendas for the next session, which begins in January.
The hearing also comes as many workers grow increasingly concerned about the security of their jobs.
A recent national report from SmartAsset placed Texas as the ninth most at-risk state for AI job disruption, saying the technology can lead to “declining hiring demand, wage pressure, task automation and other forms of disruption” for more than 500,000 workers.
Last week, Austin-based Oracle had its second round of layoffs tied to AI. While it is unknown exactly how many people were affected in the latest round, Oracle has cut nearly 13% of its workforce, or more than 21,000 jobs, over the past fiscal year as it continues investing billions in AI infrastructure.
Senator Angela Paxton listens to speakers at a Senate Finance Committee hearing for public higher education institutions at the Texas Capitol on Feb. 6, 2025. (Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman)
Other companies with Austin offices – Cisco, Cognizant, Expedia, Meta and PayPal – have had AI-driven layoffs this year, with companies like Round Rock-based Dell Technologies Inc., Austin-based Tesla Inc. and Microsoft cutting jobs in the past year too.
Research from Stanford University suggests there has been a roughly 35% drop in entry-level jobs, those jobs most college graduates are seeking, as AI has automated routine research and analysis.
“But what is already clear is that it is affecting their incumbent workers, many of whom now need upskilling and reskilling,” Michelle Singh, vice president for strategic educational alliances at the University of North Texas, testified. “It is changing how they operate, and right now it is hitting early career talent hardest. Most employers have slowed early career hiring, and what they expect from a new hire has changed.”
Those who testified before the committee Tuesday largely said the state needs to increase AI education and training so workers are more prepared for the AI workplace.
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Rob Cohan, who leads health and public service industry business for technology and AI consulting firm Accenture, said he believes AI’s rapid rise is similar to the emergence of the Internet.
“During the internet, we all thought we’re going to lose our jobs because the internet’s taking over,” Cohan said. “What happened is yes, some jobs did go away, but many more came online. We had net more jobs created as a result, other very different jobs. The current prediction is that there will be a very similar parallel here. … There will be categories of jobs that’ll sunset, but entire new categories created.”
But beyond one question from committee Chair Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, about the possibility of AI replacing human workers, the hearing mostly focused on AI literacy, job training and education, rather than protecting Texas workers from AI replacement.
“AI literacy is becoming a basic workforce skill, much like digital literacy has been,” Cohan testified. “Texas should integrate age and role appropriate, practical, responsible and workforce-relevant AI literacy into existing K-12, higher education, apprenticeship and workforce programs. A nurse, technician, electrician, logistics worker, or a manufacturer, for example, should understand how AI affects their work too. This does not mean everybody turning into a programmer. It means that we need to help every Texan work safely and effectively with these new tools.”
This article originally published at Texas Senate committee considers AI workforce preparedness as tech layoffs mount.