The First Major AI Mass Replacement in France
It was the kind of headline that everyone in the French workforce had been dreading. In early 2026, Onclusive, formerly known as Kantar Media, announced a restructuring plan at its Courbevoie headquarters (Paris area) that would eliminate 217 out of 383 positions. The reason: these jobs would be replaced by artificial intelligence.
This is not a gradual evolution or a distant prediction. It is happening now. And it represents the first documented case of mass AI replacement at this scale in France.
What Did These Workers Do?
Onclusive is a media monitoring company. The 217 affected employees were primarily responsible for:
- Compiling press articles from thousands of media sources
- Writing summaries and analyses of media coverage
- Producing monitoring reports for major clients
- Tracking media mentions and sentiment for brands and organizations
Their clients included CAC 40 companies (France's top 40 publicly traded companies), French government agencies, and major international organizations. These were not low-skill positions. They required media expertise, analytical thinking, and the ability to produce nuanced, context-aware summaries.
Yet AI systems have now become capable of performing these tasks at scale, 24 hours a day, at a fraction of the cost.
The Numbers Tell a Stark Story
The restructuring plan reveals just how dramatic the shift is:
- 217 positions eliminated out of 383 total (57% of the workforce)
- Only 23 new positions created - primarily AI management and technical roles
- Net job loss: 194 positions
- This means for every new job created by AI, nearly 10 were destroyed
This ratio challenges the optimistic narrative that AI will create as many jobs as it destroys. At least in this case, the numbers are overwhelmingly negative for workers.
Union Reaction and Worker Impact
The announcement was met with immediate and fierce opposition from unions, particularly Force Ouvriere (FO), one of France's largest trade union confederations.
"This is not a restructuring. This is a mass replacement of human workers by machines, dressed up in corporate language. These are people with families, mortgages, and years of expertise being told that a computer can do their job better." - Force Ouvriere representative
The union demanded a full consultation process, enhanced severance packages, and comprehensive retraining programs. They also called for new legislation specifically addressing AI-driven mass layoffs.
For the affected workers, many of whom had been with the company for years, the shock was immense. Media monitoring is a specialized skill. These professionals built their careers understanding the French and international media landscape. Finding equivalent positions in a market where their core skills are being automated is a daunting prospect.
The Broader Debate on AI Regulation in France
The Onclusive case has reignited the debate about AI regulation in France and across Europe. Current French labor law requires companies to consult with employee representatives before mass layoffs and to propose reclassification measures. But the existing framework was not designed for AI-driven replacement.
Several proposals are now being discussed:
- AI Impact Assessment requirement - Companies above a certain size would need to file impact assessments before deploying AI that replaces human workers
- Extended notice periods for AI-driven restructuring to give workers more time to retrain
- AI replacement tax - A levy on companies that replace workers with AI, funding retraining programs
- Sector-specific protections for industries where AI adoption is fastest
France has historically been more protective of worker rights than many other countries. How it responds to this case could set a precedent for AI labor policy across the European Union.
Comparison with Similar Cases
While Onclusive is the largest documented case in France, similar patterns are emerging elsewhere:
- BT Group (UK) announced plans to cut 55,000 jobs by 2030, with AI replacing many roles
- IBM paused hiring for back-office roles that AI could handle, affecting roughly 7,800 positions
- Chegg, the education company, saw its stock collapse after admitting ChatGPT was destroying its business
- Dukaan, an Indian tech company, replaced 90% of its customer support team with AI
The Onclusive case is notable because it is the first in France to be so explicit about AI as the cause. Many companies quietly automate positions without publicly attributing the job losses to AI. Onclusive's transparency, whether voluntary or forced, makes it a landmark case.
What Comes Next
The Onclusive case is almost certainly a preview of what is to come. Media monitoring was a field ripe for AI disruption: it involves processing large volumes of text, identifying patterns, and producing summaries - all tasks where current AI excels.
But the same logic applies to dozens of other fields: financial analysis, legal research, translation, content moderation, customer service, and many more. The question is not whether other companies will follow Onclusive's path, but when.
What This Means for You
If you work in a field that involves processing, summarizing, or analyzing information, the Onclusive case should be a wake-up call. The technology to automate these tasks already exists, and the economic incentive for companies to deploy it is enormous.
The good news is that preparation is possible. Understanding your role's vulnerability to AI, developing complementary skills, and staying ahead of the curve can make the difference between being displaced and being indispensable.
How vulnerable is your job to AI replacement? Take the MyJobVsAI quiz to find out. Our data-driven analysis will give you a specific timeline and actionable recommendations for your career. Because the best time to prepare was yesterday. The second best time is now.