Newsom Signs AI Order to Protect California Workers
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a first-of-its-kind executive order on Thursday directing state agencies to prepare workers, small businesses, and communities for the economic disruption that artificial intelligence is expected to bring to the workforce. The order mobilizes labor experts, economists, universities, and industry leaders to develop new policies, gather data, and identify early warning signs of workforce disruption.
The announcement, made from Sacramento, represents the most comprehensive state-level effort in the nation to address AI’s impact on employment. It comes as California — home to 33 of the top 50 private AI companies in the world — confronts the paradox of being both the global epicenter of AI innovation and the state most exposed to its disruptive effects on jobs.
What the Executive Order Does
The order directs state agencies to explore a wide range of policies, including severance standards, employment insurance and transition support for displaced workers, worker ownership models, universal basic capital concepts, and expanded workforce training. It also calls for stronger tracking of hiring and payroll trends to help California respond faster to potential layoffs.
According to the California Governor’s Office, the order has four main pillars: empowering workers to share in AI-driven gains, tracking AI’s impact on the workforce, responding to employment disruption, and developing stronger public policy for AI that advances the public good.
“California has never sat back and watched as the future happened to us – and we won’t start now,” Newsom said. “This moment demands that we reimagine the entire system — how we work, how we govern, how we prepare people for the future — and that work is starting right here in the Golden State.”
Building on a Track Record of AI Regulation
This executive order builds on a series of actions Newsom has taken since 2023, when he made California the first state to act on generative AI policy. Since then, his administration has signed legislation cracking down on sexually explicit deepfakes, requiring AI watermarking, and protecting performers’ digital likenesses. In September 2025, Newsom signed the Transparency in Frontier Technology Act (SB 53), the first state legislation on frontier AI nationwide. Just two months ago, in March 2026, he signed Executive Order N-5-26 strengthening civil rights and privacy protections in state procurement of AI technology.
As Yahoo Tech reported, the order comes at a time when AI is already driving significant layoffs across the tech industry. This week alone, Meta laid off 8,000 workers — approximately 10% of its workforce — and other tech giants including Amazon, Oracle, and Cloudflare have enacted thousands of layoffs in recent months.
The Stakes: A Looming Transformation of Work
The urgency of the order reflects warnings from AI industry leaders themselves. Anthropic cofounder Dario Amodei has predicted that around half of white-collar jobs could be eliminated over the next five years due to AI advances. First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom highlighted that women face disproportionate risks of displacement and widening economic inequality as AI evolves.
“As the epicenter of the tech industry, California recognizes our responsibility to ensure workers are prepared for success as AI reshapes the economy,” Siebel Newsom said.
Key Deadlines and Deliverables
The order sets concrete timelines for action. Within 180 days, state agencies must deliver recommendations on revisions to the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires advance notice of large layoffs. Agencies are also tasked with creating a new dashboard showing AI’s impact across sectors, producing a report on early economic warning signals of labor disruptions, and developing an “AI playbook” to modernize job training programs.
Newsom also announced the Engaged California initiative, a statewide deliberative democracy effort that invites all Californians to participate in shaping AI policy through engaged.ca.gov/ai.
Potential Conflict with Federal Policy
The executive order may set up a clash with the Trump administration, which has advocated for a hands-off approach to AI regulation. In December 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that sought to preempt state AI laws, creating potential legal and policy tension with California’s increasingly assertive regulatory framework.
What to Watch For
As the first order of its kind in the nation, California’s approach could serve as a template for other states considering similar worker protection measures. The 180-day deadline for WARN Act recommendations will be a key milestone, and the Engaged California deliberative democracy process may produce policy ideas that could reshape how the state approaches AI regulation. How the state navigates potential federal preemption challenges will also be closely watched by policymakers nationwide.
“Today is just the first step as we rewrite policy and direction, creating a future of work that works for all,” Newsom said.