Top Economist Warns White-Collar Workers Are Facing Their 'Detroit Auto Worker' Moment As AI Begins Replacing Cognitive Jobs
Economist Justin Wolfers has issued a stark warning that white-collar professionals are now facing their “Detroit auto worker” moment due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
AI Is Coming For Cognitive Jobs
Speaking on MSNBC, Wolfers argued that, unlike every major technological shift in the past, AI is the first to replace cognitive work rather than manual labor.
“Almost every previous technological revolution—the plow, the steam engine, electricity—has been technology… doing the work of brawn, of muscle,” Wolfers explained.
He noted that those disruptions primarily impacted blue-collar workers. “What’s different this time is the robots are doing cognitive work,” he stated. “So that means the folks they’re coming for this time are white-collar workers.”
He identified the core skills of many white-collar jobs—including his own and those in media—as being directly in AI’s crosshairs. “If you spend your day ‘reading lots of stuff and turning it into straight English,’ well… so does the machine,” he wrote.
See Also: Nasdaq 100 Faces Worst November Since 2008 As AI Boom Hits A Wall
Wolfers Calls For Better Policy Response To Decreasing Jobs
Wolfers, a professor of economics and public policy, said this new reality should be a moment of empathy. He suggested those in the blue-collar world should tell their white-collar friends, “Welcome to what I’ve lived through for the past 40 years.”
“We feel like Detroit auto workers in the 1970s,” Wolfers added, emphasizing that the main challenge now is to learn from history. He urged a better policy response, not “because it’s white-collar workers this time, but because we ought to learn from history.”
Major Firms Announce Job Cuts
This comes as big corporations, including Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE:UPS), have recently announced significant layoffs.
With AMZN targeting nearly 30,000 jobs after 14,000 layoffs already this year, and UPS cutting 48,000 roles this year, surpassing its earlier estimate of 20,000 job cuts.
Other companies cutting jobs include,
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP – made 5,600 cuts in fiscal 2025
- Chegg Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) – cutting 45% of workforce
- Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) – cutting 1,800 roles (8% of corporate team)
- Paramount Skydance Corp. (NASDAQ:PSKY) – cutting 2,000 jobs
The employment report from September, which was affected by the government shutdown, will now be released on Thursday, Nov. 20, as per the BLS.
AI Linked Instruments Lead Rally Despite Employment Worries
The futures of the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones were trading higher on Monday after a mixed close on Friday. Here are a few AI-linked ETFs that investors could consider.
| ETF Name | YTD Performance | One Year Performance |
| iShares US Technology ETF (NYSE:IYW) | 24.83% | 27.51% |
| Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (NYSE:FTEC) | 21.88% | 25.32% |
| First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (NYSE:FDN) | 10.53% | 16.36% |
| iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (NYSE:IGM) | 24.99% | 28.93% |
| iShares Global Tech ETF (NYSE:IXN) | 25.11% | 28.47% |
| Defiance Quantum ETF (NASDAQ:QTUM) | 29.73% | 66.04% |
| Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (BATS:MAGS) | 19.81% | 27.01% |
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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