Written Answer to PQ on AI-related Retrenchments

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1006 OF 2026 FOR THE SITTING ON 4 AUGUST 2026
QUESTION NO. 2534 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari

To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry plans to enhance retrenchment statistics to better capture contributing factors such as artificial intelligence or automation, instead of under the broad category of business restructuring; (b) if so, whether a detailed breakdown of such cases by occupational group, particularly among Professionals, Managers and Executives, can be provided.

Answer:

It is currently difficult to isolate the impact of AI or automation as a primary driver of retrenchments as automation is typically implemented as part of broader business transformation or restructuring exercises. The Ministry will continue to study how we can better capture the impact of AI and automation in its retrenchment statistics.