Ex-Meta AI Exec Launches Nonprofit to Address Entry-Level Hiring Crisis Driven by AI

NewsData.io · United States · Sep 13, 2026

Clara Shih, former head of business AI at Meta and Salesforce, has launched the New Work Foundation, a nonprofit targeting the collapse in entry-level hiring she attributes partly to agentic AI replacing junior roles. The organization offers tools for young job seekers and is in early talks with employers willing to make large-scale entry-level hiring commitments. The article also surfaces key labor market signals for staffing firms: AI is now the fourth-most cited reason for layoffs in August after a five-month run at the top, the US workforce has shrunk by 700,000 since January, and the job separation rate is near a 20-year low — indicating workers are staying put rather than moving. Recruiters should note tightening candidate mobility alongside weakening entry-level demand across AI-adopting client companies.