As mass layoffs continue to make news, and many organizations blame AI integration for restructuring, a new opportunity has arisen: novel public/private partnerships to support the growing talent pool being displaced by AI.
One such coalition, RAISE US, was recently unveiled as a joint effort from state governments, AI firms and major employers, including Amazon, Anthropic and Microsoft, as “anchor partners.”
According to press materials announcing the nonprofit organization, other supporting employers include: ADP, AMD, Autodesk, Bank of America, Blackstone, Boston Consulting Group, Cisco, Cognizant, Deloitte, Eli Lilly and Company, General Motors, IBM, Infosys, Mastercard, Rockwell Automation, ServiceNow, UPS and Workday.
RAISE US will build the “workforce response to AI,” the organization says, with a focus on helping American talent “train, transition and thrive” in an AI-powered economy. Specifically, RAISE US pilot partners are working with the coalition to launch reskilling and redeployment programs, and create opportunities for displaced workers. The employers will also work closely with partners as they explore regulatory shifts like updates to unemployment insurance and potential employer incentives to navigate retention amid AI disruption, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“Coalition members are champions for workforce transition and co-design the pilots that build a shared understanding of what effective worker transition looks like in practice,” the organization says.
In a press release announcing its involvement in RAISE US, Amazon pointed to its own history of investing in workforce development—such as through its $2.5 billion commitment to a Future Ready 2030 project, which has already upskilled 31 million people worldwide, including 700,000 Amazon employees. The RAISE US partnership comes after Amazon itself cut about 10% of its workforce over the last year, amid massive AI investment.
“We believe this commitment to people is one of the most important investments we can make—both right now and for the workforce of the future, and we’re optimistic about what [AI] can do for people,” Amazon says. “But we also recognize that optimism without action isn’t enough. The transition to an AI-driven economy will create enormous opportunity, but only if we invest now in helping workers develop the skills to seize it.”
Meeting a rising need
RAISE US estimates that more than three-quarters of employers intend to upskill their current workforce amid AI disruption, with 50 million American jobs estimated to be “vulnerable” to AI, while the tech is expected to create 78 million net new jobs worldwide by 2030.
The demand for such massive transformation necessitates outside-the-box responses, such as through partnerships that unify government entities, employers and other stakeholders. Walmart took a similar approach in organizing its inaugural Opportunity Summit, a 2024 venture that convened experts across education, employment, government and more to create a “shared language” for in-demand frontline worker skills.
Donna Morris, chief people officer of Walmart and 2025 HR Executive of the Year, told HR Executive last year that the concept of bringing employers together to share knowledge, ideas and their vision for the future is going to become even more integral as AI disruption advances.
“Work gives a lot of people purpose—and if employers can come together to talk about how we reshape for the future, how we equip our workforces for the future, it not only strengthens one company, it strengthens the workforce more broadly,” she says.
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