Pelgo CEO urges governments to back workers as AI reshapes jobs

On 10 July 2026, the International Labour Organization said that artificial intelligence could change the work of almost 80 million people in Southeast Asia, while there are still few signs of mass job cuts. Pelgo chief Chie Huang urged governments to take a more active part in adapting the labor market and to use AI as a tool to support workers whose tasks will be affected by automation.

How AI is changing the labor market

AI could affect the jobs of almost 80 million people in Southeast Asian countries. This is not only about individual professions disappearing: the technology can change the content of work, the skills required and the division of tasks between employees and software systems.

At the same time, the International Labour Organization sees no convincing evidence that the spread of AI has already led to large-scale layoffs in the region. So far the effect shows up more as a restructuring of workflows than as the one-off replacement of large numbers of employees.

• Almost 80 million workers in Southeast Asia are potentially affected
• The estimate comes from the International Labour Organization
• As of 10 July 2026, there are practically no mass layoffs attributable to AI
• The ILO urges governments to strengthen governance of AI development
• Pelgo chief Chie Huang sees AI as a tool for helping displaced workers, meaning people who have lost their former tasks

What the ILO proposes

The ILO believes governments need to strengthen the governance of artificial intelligence and better align AI measures with overall employment policy. It proposes building the process around people, so that decisions take the interests of workers and companies into account at the same time.

This approach involves not only monitoring how the technology is deployed but also preparing the labor market for change. Workers and businesses need conditions that let them adapt to new requirements, rather than facing the consequences of automation only after jobs have been cut.

The ILO does not claim that AI poses no risks to employment. On the contrary, the estimate of almost 80 million potentially affected jobs shows the scale of the restructuring ahead. However, the available data do not support a scenario of immediate mass unemployment.

Why the role of the state matters

According to Huang, governments should not take a passive stance and wait for the market to cope with the consequences of AI adoption on its own. In his words, public measures are critically important for entrepreneurs, workers and companies that will have to adapt to new technologies.

AI can become a tool for workers pushed out of their former roles, not

only a way of eliminating jobs.

In this scenario, the technology helps people learn new tasks or keep working in a changed organization of labor. That requires coordinated decisions on regulation, employment and business support. The material does not disclose specific programs or timelines for their implementation.

What this means

For Southeast Asia, the main question is not whether AI will replace all workers, but how quickly governments and companies can prepare people for changes to their tasks. Mass layoffs are not visible yet, but the scale of the potential impact, almost 80 million jobs, makes public policy part of the AI agenda.