In today’s news and commentary, Intuit shares fall following revenue and layoffs announcement and Governor Newsom issues an executive order targeting effects of artificial intelligence on the job market.

On Thursday, shares for Intuit fell about 20% following news of slower than anticipated TurboTax revenue and plans to cut thousands of jobs. While overall revenue numbers were encouraging, the underwhelming performance of TurboTax, one of Intuit’s premier products, reignited the market’s concerns about impacts of artificial intelligence on the tax filing service. As part of Intuit’s efforts to adapt to these effects, the firm plans to reduce headcount by roughly 3,000 workers and invest their cost savings into artificial intelligence products. Intuit hopes this move will make them a “faster, leaner, more focused company.” The firm also cut 1,800 jobs in July 2024.

Also on Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing state agencies to study and explore ways to navigate the effects of artificial intelligence disruption on the workforce. According to the governor’s office, the order “mobilizes state agencies, labor experts, economists, universities, and industry leaders to develop new policies, gather data, and identify early warning signs of workforce disruption — while ensuring workers share in the gains created by AI-driven productivity.” These new proposals may include strengthened AI-specific severance standards, unemployment insurance, and data tracking to allow for faster state response times, as well as worker ownership business models and AI training programs. The order is the first of its kind. In a statement, Governor 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.”