New research finds employees replaced by AI are increasingly being rehired by the same employers, raising concerns about workforce planning, talent visibility, and trust

SHL, a global talent insight company, has identified a growing workplace trend known as “AI rebounding,” in which employees replaced by artificial intelligence are later asked to return to the same organization after automation fails to deliver the expected results.

According to SHL’s Talent Mobility at Work in 2026 report, the trend is affecting more workers than many business leaders may realize and is influencing employee expectations around compensation, job security, and transparency. Younger workers appear particularly exposed, with nearly one in four employees aged 18–24 reporting firsthand experience of being replaced by AI and subsequently approached to return.

The research surveyed more than 2,000 employed adults across the United States and the United Kingdom. It found that 52% of respondents had encountered AI rebounding directly, through someone they know, or through reports of such cases.

Workers Are Reconsidering the Terms of Returning

The experience of being replaced by AI is changing how employees view the prospect of returning to a former employer.

SHL found that 8% of workers would refuse to return under any circumstances. Among those who might consider returning, 51% would expect a substantial pay increase, while 42% would require specific guarantees about future job security. Another 40% said they would want full transparency about how AI would be used in their role.

Firsthand experiences were more common in the United States, where 19% of workers said they had personally experienced AI rebounding, compared with 13% in the United Kingdom.

Lucy Beaumont, global senior vice president of product and design at SHL, said organizations risk making workforce decisions based on incomplete assessments of employees’ capabilities.

She explained that AI rebounding can occur when companies automate roles without properly evaluating the human expertise involved. When the technology fails to meet business needs, organizations may find themselves rehiring the same specialists at a greater cost.

Limited Visibility Into Workforce Capabilities

The report also highlights a broader challenge around how organizations identify, assess, and develop internal talent.

Only 42% of workers believe their managers fully understand their skills beyond their current job titles. The figure falls to 36% among employees in the U.K.

Meanwhile, 54% of respondents said their employer favors external recruitment over reskilling or promoting existing employees. Nearly half (47%) said they would prefer to be retrained for a different role rather than lose their jobs if AI significantly changed their current positions.

These findings point to a gap between the skills organizations have internally and their ability to recognize and deploy those capabilities effectively.

AI Transformation Requires Better Talent Planning

SHL said AI rebounding reflects a wider workforce visibility problem: organizations may lack objective, reliable information about what employees can do and how prepared they are to work alongside AI.

Without a clear understanding of workforce capabilities, decisions about automation, recruitment, and reskilling risk becoming reactive and costly. Replacing employees before assessing their potential can also undermine trust, particularly when organizations later seek to bring those individuals back.

Beaumont said the trend should prompt businesses to evaluate their people and their readiness for AI transformation more carefully, identifying where automation can add value and where human expertise remains essential.

As organizations continue integrating AI into their operations, workforce planning and skills assessment are becoming increasingly important to ensuring that technology adoption supports business needs without overlooking existing employee capabilities.

About SHL

SHL is a talent insight company that combines workforce data, scientific research, and technology to help organizations understand and develop their people. Its talent solutions and workforce insights are designed to help businesses make informed decisions about talent, improve workforce potential, and support business outcomes.