## Maryland's Tech Jobs Initiative Gains Momentum

Maryland Lt. Gov. **Aruna Miller** is championing the Moore administration's ambitious plan to transform the state into a **major tech jobs hub**, defending their economic strategy during a recent appearance at the INSIGHT ConneX event in Cockeysville.

![Aruna Miller](https://dehayf5mhw1h7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2100/2026/03/19124024/untitled-1.webp)

### Strategic Focus on 21st Century Industries

Miller emphasized the administration's **laser beam focus** on attracting technology companies and creating high-quality jobs. "If we try to dilute ourselves and try to chase after everything, we're not going to be able to get that," Miller stated. "So we really want to be laser beam focused on the industries of the 21st Century, and really the great resources we have in the state of Maryland that add to that."

### Progress Despite Challenges

Despite the implementation of a **3% sales tax on digital services and IT** last year, Miller highlighted significant progress in Maryland's tech sector development. "Gov. Moore often says we are asset-rich and strategy-poor, and we're working on that," Miller explained. "Is it going to happen overnight? The changes, no, policy takes time to happen."

### Major Corporate Investments

The state has successfully attracted substantial investment from **major technology and pharmaceutical companies**, including:

- **AstraZeneca**
- **Hitachi Rail**
- **Samsung Biologics**

### Maryland's Competitive Advantages

Miller pointed to several key factors making Maryland attractive for tech companies:

- **Incredible talent pool** from local universities and institutions
- **Proximity to Washington D.C.** and federal resources
- **Strong existing infrastructure** for technology development

"We have an incredible talent pool here, and so many resources, just because, you know, our nation's capital is in our backyard, that you know, together, attracts so many business to our area," Miller noted.

### Long-Term Vision

The administration recognizes that building a robust tech ecosystem requires **patient, strategic investment** rather than quick fixes. Miller's comments suggest a commitment to creating sustainable growth through targeted policies and infrastructure development that will benefit both established companies and startups in the technology sector.

Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller is defending the Moore administration's efforts to boost the state's economy by attracting tech jobs to the state today.

Maryland's Bold Tech Jobs Push: How the State is Becoming a 21st Century Innovation Hub

## South Korea's Labor Debate Moves into Digital Policy

South Korea's labor debate is increasingly moving into digital policy. On February 11, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) launched a consultative body with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) to discuss **artificial intelligence, automation, and industrial restructuring**. This body brings union leadership into regular policy discussions with the government on issues such as **AI deployment and workplace transformation**.

KCTU leaders framed the initiative as necessary to ensure that technological change follows a **“human-centered” approach** as AI spreads across workplaces. With more than one million members, KCTU is a major institutional actor in Korea’s policy ecosystem, and its policy positions carry real weight in regulatory debates.

## The Real Challenge: Productivity Growth vs. Job Loss

The key question is not whether labor should participate in shaping digital policy—it should. The question is whether the policy direction being advocated will actually help workers over time. The available evidence does not show an economy already experiencing large-scale AI-driven job loss. Statistics Korea reported that total employment in January 2026 reached roughly 28 million, an increase of about 108,000 from the same month of the previous year.

International evidence points in the same direction. An OECD analysis of AI adoption finds **little aggregate employment impact** so far across OECD economies, including Korea. These findings suggest that the immediate challenge is not technological unemployment but how to manage **productivity growth and worker transition** as technologies diffuse.

## KCTU's Policy Focus: Safeguards vs. Adoption

Yet much of the current debate is moving in a different direction. In recent policy discussions, KCTU has called for stronger safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence in workplace decision-making. Labor leaders have argued that firms should face clearer rules when deploying AI systems that affect hiring, evaluation, or working conditions, and some union proposals emphasize the need for **labor-impact assessments** as automation expands across industries.

But there is a difference between requiring transparency and building a de facto permission structure around adoption. This distinction matters because the government itself is moving toward a more calibrated model: MOEL’s 2026 work plan calls for industry- and occupation-level surveys on AI transition effects and the development of a labor-sector AI ethics guideline, rather than an upfront presumption that firms should slow deployment until broad social consensus is reached.

## The Bigger Bottleneck: Weak Diffusion and Reskilling

This is where the Korean debate is starting to drift. Korea does need safeguards for algorithmic management, AI-based evaluation, and workplace surveillance—but it also needs deployment. The OECD’s Korea study suggests that while AI adoption remains at an early stage, firms and employees are already reporting **productivity gains**. However, participation in adult learning in Korea is the lowest among OECD countries at just 13 percent, compared to an OECD average of 40 percent, and only 42 percent of firms that have adopted AI report providing training to employees to work with it.

In other words, the bigger bottleneck is not just harmful adoption. Rather, it is **weak diffusion paired with weak reskilling**. A policy framework that puts most of its energy into restricting employer use of AI, while underinvesting in rapid retraining and worker mobility, would misdiagnose the problem.

## Union Representation Gap and Digital Labor Markets

Meanwhile, KCTU has increasingly entered broader digital policy debates, including discussions on platform regulation and competition issues surrounding Korea’s Online Platform Fairness Act. A more constructive approach, however, would focus less on resisting technological adoption and more on supporting worker transition as technology diffuses.

Governments can strengthen reskilling systems, improve job-matching infrastructure, and provide temporary income support during periods of labor market adjustment. Such policies help workers move into higher productivity roles while allowing firms to adopt technologies that enable those roles in the first place. When policy frameworks prioritize restrictions on new technologies instead of adaptation, they risk slowing diffusion in sectors where productivity growth is already weak.

The tension becomes clearer when looking at the structure of Korea’s broader labor landscape. Union membership in Korea is concentrated in large enterprises and the public sector, while union density falls sharply in smaller firms. According to official MOEL data, unionization rates reach nearly 72 percent in the public sector and roughly 35 percent in firms with 300 or more employees. In establishments with 30 to 99 workers, the rate is only 1.3 percent, and in firms with fewer than 30 employees, it drops to just 0.1 percent.

This imbalance means organized labor often reflects the interests of workers in relatively stable, well-paid jobs rather than the broader workforce, including younger and nonregular workers, as well as those in emerging digital sectors. This representational gap matters in debates about technological change. Workers in highly unionized sectors are more likely to face automation risks in large manufacturing firms or state-linked industries, while younger and nonregular workers are more likely to participate in fast-growing **digital labor markets**, including platform services and freelance work.

Policies designed primarily to protect existing job structures may therefore do little to help the groups that are actually expanding within the labor market. In an economy where the majority of workers are employed in services and small firms, regulatory approaches that slow digital adoption may end up protecting a shrinking share of the workforce.

## Economic Context: Productivity and Global Competition

The economic context reinforces the stakes of this debate. Korea’s productivity growth has slowed significantly over the past two decades. OECD data show that Korea’s GDP per hour worked is roughly 70 to 75 percent of the U.S. level. At the same time, Korea is entering one of the fastest demographic transitions in the OECD, with the working-age population projected to decline sharply over the coming decades. In this environment, long-term growth will depend increasingly on technologies that raise output per worker rather than on expanding the labor force.

Automation technologies, including AI and robotics, are central to that adjustment. According to the International Federation of Robotics 2024 report, Korea has the **highest robot density in the world**, with 1,012 industrial robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers. But global competition is intensifying. China installed 295,000 industrial robots in 2024, accounting for more than half of global installations. For Korean manufacturers facing rising labor costs and aging demographics, automation is not simply a labor-saving tool but a key mechanism for maintaining **global competitiveness**.

## Balancing Worker Protections with Technological Progress

None of this means that worker protections should be ignored. Technologies that reshape workplaces should be accompanied by transparency rules, fair dispute processes, and reskilling opportunities. But the policy objective should be to help workers transition alongside technological change rather than to slow the diffusion of productivity-enhancing technologies. MOEL has already begun expanding training programs to build AI and digital skills among workers, including targeted programs for mid-career workers and employees in small and medium-sized firms.

The deeper risk is that Korea’s digital policy debate becomes framed primarily around protecting existing jobs rather than preparing workers for the next generation of industries. Labor unions have historically played an important role in shaping fair transitions during technological change. If policy debates focus mainly on restricting new technologies, they may end up protecting yesterday’s jobs at the expense of tomorrow’s workers.

As Korea’s labor debate moves into digital policy, unions risk harming workers in the next generation of industries by prioritizing protections for existing jobs over preparing workers for technological transition.

South Korea's AI Labor Debate: Are Unions Protecting Old Jobs at the Cost of Future Workers?

![techlayoffsai](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt0bbd1b20253587c0/blt1b13c3597008248c/69bc3e5122146604bf29a938/GettyImages-aidisplacesworker2234275993.jpg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=80&format=jpg&disable=upscale)

Tech firms are laying off workers and reducing their compensation to fund AI investment, though some question if this approach is sustainable. blocberry/ iStock / Getty Images Plus

For the past few years, the promise of AI has been to enable humans to use the tools as a companion to be productive and replace only lower-end jobs. But continuing a trend that appeared to pick up last year, more tech firms appear adamant on eliminating more positions as AI investment picks up, leaving even highly skilled workers looking over their shoulders on whether they will be next.

According to the site layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs, under 40,000 employees at tech companies have been cut thus far in 2026. Notable companies that have announced layoffs include Amazon (100, though other sources say 16,000), Meta (1500), FormFactor (220), Autodesk (1000), and ASML (1700). But these numbers don’t begin to indicate what may be coming in the not-too-distant future.

## Profitable, But Still Laying Off

In the era of AI, layoffs are no longer attributed to poor company financial performance. Instead, companies appear to be proactively cutting employees to balance their budgets with AI investments.

For instance, ASML said in its most recent quarterly financial earning statement in late January it was reorganizing to streamline operations and thus would eliminate some jobs, many at management levels. But almost two months later, employees remain in limbo as the cuts have not yet been finalized amidst reported pushbacks by unions, who noted the Dutch-based company still plans to expand some of its facilities.

But the real drama can unfold in coming months as tech companies reportedly engage in more drastic downsizings. Meta, which has engaged in several highly-publicized rounds of layoffs in recent years, axed 1,500 workers in its Reality Labs metaverse unit in January. Now, new reports hint Meta could cut as much as 20% of its remaining workforce, as the firm seeks to offset mammoth investments in AI infrastructure and top-level talent. Some of the cuts could be in AI units themselves. The report quotes one analyst as stating that a 20% staff cut could produce $6 billion in cost savings.

Meta is not the only company considering massive layoffs. Amazon is reportedly considering cutting an additional 14,000 in the second quarter according to a post on American Bazaar Online. The report noted that divisions like Amazon Web Services (AWS) are consolidating entire departments, with small clusters of senior engineers using advanced AI models like Claude Sonnet to manage workloads that previously required dozens of employees. Amazon’s Alexa division, which once employed over 800, now reportedly has a skeletal crew of 23, with remaining hardware development contracted to a team in Bangalore, India that utilizes AI-powered coding tools.

To add insult to injury, the American Bazaar Online post reported sources said process documentation and workflow information from outgoing workers was used in datasets to train the AI agents that replaced them.

Oracle is reportedly planning to cut between 20,000 and 30,000 jobs, about 12% to 18% of its global workforce. The proposed cuts are linked to efforts to control costs as Oracle increases spending on AI infrastructure.

## Study Confirms Companies Prioritizing AI

A recent survey of 866 business leaders by the career site Resume Builder paints a dim picture of the current tech job climate. About 46% of the companies surveyed were in technology and software. The survey found that the companies justified their actions by stating that only substantial AI investments would enable them to compete and thrive in a rapidly changing global economy. The survey found:

- 75% say AI provides a competitive edge.
- 74% expect AI to drive revenue growth.
- 57% fear falling behind without AI investment.
- 56% cite board or investor pressure to adopt AI

"This is not reluctant belt-tightening, and these leaders are not apologetic about the choices they are making,” said Stacie Haller, Chief Career Advisor of Resume Builder, in a statement. “They see AI investment as existential and are willing to absorb turnover and employee dissatisfaction as acceptable costs. The weak job market is giving them confidence that they can do this without serious consequences. But the job market will not stay weak forever. Job seekers are already wary of employers using AI to eliminate roles, and organizations that have cut compensation to fund those investments may find that history follows them when workers have choices again,” says Haller.

Further study results reinforce current company attitudes toward cutting compensation or conducting layoffs to fund AI, with companies willing to absorb further human costs:

- 94% expect to reduce headcount.
- 92% say AI investment is a higher priority than employee satisfaction.
- 94% are willing to accept higher turnover to fund AI growth.
- 88% say the weak job market makes it easier to reduce compensation without losing talent.

## This Year’s Raise? Only After AI is Budgeted

Even if jobs are not cut, employee compensation is taking a back seat. Resume Builder found that 54% of companies have or will reduce employee compensation to free up capital for AI spending in 2026. By the end of the year, more than half of companies (58%) will have cut employee compensation (54%) or laid off workers (26%) to help fund AI investments, according to the survey.

“Companies are making a clear calculation: AI investment is the priority, and employee compensation is where the budget will come from. This is not just layoffs. Bonuses, raises, equity, benefits, and base pay are all being cut simultaneously, across industries,” said Haller.

Resume Builder added that many companies plan to take a flat, across-the-board approach to raises in 2026, sometimes referred to as “peanut butter raises,” rather than tying compensation to individual performance.

- 71% tie raises to performance.
- 11% offer below-inflation raises.
- 4% plan no raises at all.

“Companies that flatten compensation this way risk losing the people they can least afford to and end up retaining low performers who had nowhere else to go,” added Haller.

![Stacie-Haller-300x298.png](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt0bbd1b20253587c0/blt4038199685c3d6d8/69bc3ba2b62d6edddb7dab31/Stacie-Haller-300x298.png?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)

Stacie Haller of Resume Builder says more companies are reducing employee compensation to invest in AI. (Resume Builder)

## Will it Pay Off?

But will this herd mentality of many firms reallocating budgets to AI help produce the handsome returns they expect? That is far from a sure thing.

According to a Harvard Business Review report, MIT Media Lab/Project NANDA found in a report last year that 95% of investments in generative AI have produced zero returns. That report generated controversy on how widespread AI’s benefits were.

A more recent article in Harvard Business Review, summarizing a survey of 1,006 global executives, said that many companies were cutting jobs in anticipation of AI producing benefits. So far, there is an absence of data to verify that AI investments will reap the benefits companies hope for.

## Look Before You Leap

Given the uncertainty of AI payback, the Harvard Business Review article suggests a more measured approach by using these alternative approaches:

- Use attrition instead of large-scale layoffs.
- Redesign workflows with AI as an enabler.
- Communicate AI’s role in enhancing employee productivity.

Firms slash worker pay and positions to bankroll AI infrastructure as studies question whether investments will pay off.

AI Investment Boom Sparks Massive Tech Layoffs: Are Your Job and Salary at Risk?

## High-Tech Opportunities in Agriculture Bring a New Crop of Professionals

Agriculture is one of humanity’s oldest professions, but technology is rapidly reshaping agricultural employment. In the U.S., it accounted for 10% of total jobs in 2024 according to USDA data.

"Farming used to be all about horsepower. Now it’s just as much about computing power," says Justin Rose, president of John Deere’s worldwide agriculture and turf division. "Today, we’re building **artificial intelligence (AI) systems** that can literally see what’s growing in the field and make split-second decisions about what needs attention."

Daniel Burrus, technology futurist, adds: "We’re no longer guessing about the future. The data is there, and when we combine it with human ingenuity, we can pre-solve problems before they happen."

## The New Face of Agricultural Careers

"The narrative that agricultural careers are limited to field work is outdated," says Elaine Millar, associate vice president of research at Gray Decision Intelligence. New enrollments in **high-tech agriculture programs** are growing faster than other programs, which is crucial as the sector faces a labor shortage with older farmers retiring.

Beginning in fall 2026, the College of Central Florida will offer the state’s first Associate in Science degree in **precision agriculture**. This program will prepare graduates for roles such as:
- **Precision agriculture specialists**
- **Agronomic consultants**
- **Farm data analysts**
- **Drone operators**
- **Equipment technicians**

Smart farming’s emphasis on efficiency over labor is also attracting a more diverse workforce. "Sixty-four percent of all agriculture graduates in 2023 were women," Millar notes.

## High-Tech Equals High Pay

Gray’s data shows that high-tech roles are not just in demand, but well-compensated. "With an average salary of **$83,842 for data analysts** and flavor technologists commanding almost $70,000 annually, these positions offer a financially rewarding path for analytically minded graduates," Millar explains.

Sarah Budde Rodriguez, an agronomy solutions manager at Tidal Grow AgriScience, exemplifies this shift. "Testing new technologies in real-life scenarios is critical to bringing innovation to market," she says. Her academic background in microbiology and plant pathology provided the analytical foundation needed for her role.

## The Next Generation of Tech-Savvy Farmers

Twenty-three-year-old Salvador Ayala, a paid intern with Innov8.ag, represents the new generation entering agriculture. "I returned to agriculture because it matched my background and I was excited to apply technology to farming," he says. Ayala spends 70-75% of his time in front of the computer and the rest in orchards or meeting with farmers.

"It’s incredibly satisfying when growers see different options and gain efficiency without sacrificing their health, time or money," he adds.

Rose concludes: "When I visit a farm and see a twenty-something using drones to analyze crop health or relying on perception technology to scout fields, it’s inspiring. Agriculture today is as dynamic as any field in Silicon Valley."

![Sarah Budde Rodriguez](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2026/01/22/USAT/88303122007-sarah-budde-rodriguez-courtesy-tidal-grow.jpg)
*Sarah Budde Rodriguez testing intelligent leaf delivery technology*

![Salvador Ayala](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2026/01/22/USAT/88303624007-salvador-ayala-selfie.jpg)
*Salvador Ayala, a tech-savvy agricultural intern*

Technology is transforming agriculture, creating high-tech, high-paying jobs and attracting a diverse workforce to farming.

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