50% of CFOs Say AI Will Create New Workforce Roles

One message is coming through clearly from corporate finance leaders: AI is not just a tool for cutting tasks, it is starting to reshape what work itself looks like inside large enterprises.

According to PYMNTS Intelligence’s November 2025 CAIO Report, CFOs increasingly expect AI to change the makeup of the workforce by creating new roles, raising skill demands and, in many cases, trimming staffing in some areas at the same time.

That tension sits at the center of the report, “No Roadmap, No Problem: How Enterprises Are Reinventing the AI Workforce.” Based on a survey of 60 CFOs at U.S. companies generating at least $1 billion in annual revenue, the study shows that most finance chiefs now see AI as a workforce issue as much as a technology issue.

These same executives do not appear to view the future in simple terms of machines replacing people. Instead, many expect a rebalancing. Some jobs may shrink, but others will emerge, and those new jobs will require different capabilities.

That helps explain why the tone of the findings is cautious but not gloomy. For many CFOs, the larger challenge is preparing employees and management teams for a period of transition that is already underway.

50% of CFOs say AI will create new roles that require new skills, pointing to a workplace that becomes more specialized and more dependent on training and adaptation.

47% of CFOs say AI will significantly reduce overall headcount, showing that many companies still expect meaningful labor savings in parts of the business.

60% of CFOs say their firms are at least somewhat ready to manage AI-driven workforce change, but only 12% say they are very prepared, which suggests that confidence remains limited even as adoption moves ahead.

What stands out is that CFOs seem to be thinking less about a simple hiring freeze and more about workforce redesign. In services, leaders are more focused on using AI to improve decision making and redesign roles around human and machine collaboration. In goods industries, the emphasis is more often on output and efficiency. In tech, the driver is staying competitive.

Different sectors are taking different routes, but they are moving toward a similar destination: a workforce with higher skill requirements and a stronger connection between business strategy and digital capability. That is the optimistic thread in the data.

AI may remove some routine work, but it may also push companies to invest in people who can manage systems, interpret results and make smarter decisions faster. New roles will emerge.

The report also shows why many CFOs remain measured in their outlook. About 65% say AI’s workforce impact will be equally positive and negative, while 32% say it will be mostly or completely beneficial. Just 3.3% see the impact as negative overall. Their top concerns are not abstract fears about the technology itself. They are practical business issues: operational complexity, skill gaps, employee resistance, reputational concerns and legal or compliance challenges. Nearly two-thirds cite complexity and management challenges as a risk, while 58% point to skill gaps, including 71% in services.

The message is straightforward. CFOs do not think AI is arriving someday. They think it is here, and that the companies that handle the workforce transition well may come out stronger, leaner and better equipped for growth.

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