Many tech workers believe that the safest career move in the age of artificial intelligence is to work in AI itself. But a new US study suggests that those already working in AI may be just as worried about layoffs as employees in other fields.
In a survey of 1,552 India-based workers conducted by Blind, an anonymous community app for professionals, found that 66% of employees in AI and machine learning roles expect a layoff or significant headcount reduction in their team within the next three to six months.
The level of concern was almost the same as that reported by workers in sales and marketing, as well as product and design, indicating that AI-related roles are not necessarily viewed as immune from .
Which roles are employees most worried about?
That puts AI and ML right next to the jobs that many people already assumes are most at risk. Sales and marketing recorded the highest level of layoff expectations at 68%, followed closely by AI and ML at 66% and product and design at 65%, according to the survey results.
The findings suggest that even though AI and ML seems to be attractive employment options, given the rapid integration of AI in workforces across the globe, it does not automatically make workers feel safer. Many professionals in these roles appear to feel almost as exposed to receiving pink slips as employees in the functions that are most likely to be disrupted by AI.
Engineers feel safer, survey shows
Engineering is another job people expected to take first, but it turned out to be one of the safest.
According to the survey, only 24% of engineers say a cut is “very likely,” the lowest of any function, and overall at-risk sentiment (58%) is below the survey average.
Data and analytics’ at-risk sentiment falls to 51%, and 4 in 10 of its workers call a cut unlikely, the highest of any team. The two functions AI was believed to replace feel safer than the team building it.
The split is just as sharp by company. Salesforce (81%) and Oracle (80%) sit at the top, followed by Uber (77%) and PayPal (75%).
Two of India’s own SaaS firms sit at the other end, with Zoho at 9% and Freshworks at 44%. The companies where workers feel most at risk are the enterprise software and payments firms.
The warning signs workers are watching
The fear does not come from direct layoffs. Instead, many employees say the concern comes from quieter signals that usually appear because they happen. Among workers who expect a headcount cut, (27%) and budget or headcount-target cuts (24%) are the strongest signals they point to. Formal layoff announcements account for just 9%.
In a Blind post on engineers’ job prospects in India, one Coinbase professional put said, “ML is honestly dead too…The best you can do is augment your current skills for backend AI pipelines. And ride it out as long as you can.”
An Avalara professional added: “the only safe ML guys are the ones with phd at deep mind.”
Blind surveyed 1,552 India-based professionals in July 2026 on perceived job security across teams and functions. Companies with fewer than 10 responses were excluded from company-level analysis.