California has taken an unprecedented step in the United States to address the impact of artificial intelligence on employment. The State's governor has signed an executive order aimed at analyzing and responding to the economic and labor consequences arising from automation and the expansion of AI.
The measure comes in a context of significant adjustments in the technology sector, marked by mass layoffs in large companies such as Meta, which recently announced the departure of 8,000 workers.
Although part of the industry attributed these figures to corrections after over-hiring during the pandemic, nearly 80,000 tech employees had already lost their jobs in the United States by 2026.
A Plan to Anticipate Labor Impact
The executive order, considered the first of its kind in the country, proposes the creation of a state monitoring panel within 90 days to track how artificial intelligence affects the labor market.
Furthermore, state agencies have been tasked with presenting proposals within three months to update the WARN Act—the regulation that requires companies to provide notice of mass layoffs—with the aim of turning it into an early warning tool against the new dynamics of technological employment.
Severance Pay, Unions, and Profit Sharing
Among the policies the State committed to reviewing were severance pay, compensation through company stock, shared ownership models for workers, and proposals for "universal basic capital" linked to profits generated by AI.
California also announced it would study how unions were negotiating the implementation of artificial intelligence tools in various sectors and how to adapt public job training programs to the new technological landscape.
The executive order reflected a shift in focus: moving from treating AI solely as an economic opportunity to also considering it a social and labor challenge that requires regulation and public planning.