AI is changing how businesses think about hiring, but eliminating junior roles can create problems that outweigh the short-term savings.

If you ask a group of business leaders where AI should fit within their teams, many will give the same reply: It can take over the kind of work we used to assign to interns. This view is easy to understand. AI is good at research, summaries and first drafts, so the entry-level role starts to look optional. However, I believe that’s a mistake — and an expensive one.

Cutting junior roles may save money this year. It also removes two things AI can’t replace: those people who see your business with fresh eyes, and the pipeline that produces your future managers.

The most obvious objection is that an AI tool costs less than a salary and doesn’t require onboarding. And yes, if you only look at this year’s budget, replacing junior roles can look like a smart call.

The problem is what that decision costs later. Every senior person on your team started their career somewhere. As Lucy Beaumont, global SVP of product at SHL, told CNBC, entry-level roles are where people make their first mistakes and learn how a business really runs.

If nobody is trained today, who will be leading in 10 years? Cut that training ground, and you’re left with two options: Pay a premium to poach experienced people from competitors, or promote people who never learned the basics.

Meanwhile, graduates get stuck in a loop: Roles ask for experience, and experience requires someone to take a chance and hire them.

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