Mr. Le Tung - Director of Nhan Viet Company (Hoan Kiem ward, Hanoi), a unit specializing in providing intermediate and high-level human resources - said that the second quarter of 2026 will be the "fall point" of the digital transformation process. After more than two years of getting acquainted with generative AI tools, businesses in Vietnam have passed the testing phase and started mass application of AI systems to fully automate processes.
According to Mr. Tung's analysis, the group of employees who are office workers with salaries of 20-30 million VND/month facing the risk of losing their jobs is because this salary level is usually for employees with 3-7 years of experience. "They are important "links" in data processing, reporting, project coordination or mid-level management. It is worth mentioning that these are the tasks that AI in 2026 can perform with absolute accuracy and cost of only 1/100 of an employee's salary," Mr. Tung said.
Sharing the same view, Ms. Le Van Anh - senior human resources consultant at Nam Viet Human Resource Solutions & Human Resource Supply Co., Ltd. (Ha Dong ward, Hanoi) - analyzed in more depth, saying that the salary group of 20-30 million VND is in a "dangerous zone" in terms of business economics.
First, the replacement cost is attractive. For unskilled workers with a salary of 7-10 million VND/month, investing in a complex AI system for replacement may not bring immediate economic efficiency. Conversely, for the salary group of 20-30 million VND/month, businesses only need to cut 3-5 personnel to save more than 1 billion VND/year - a figure enough to invest in the most advanced AI packages.
Second, skills are "frozen". Many personnel at this salary level are doing "intermediary" jobs: synthesizing opinions from subordinates to report to superiors, or processing available operating procedures. In 2026, AI can help leaders directly ask questions to the data management system to get real-time reports, instead of waiting for intermediate staff to draft content for two days. The existence of intermediary "reporters" becomes redundant.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Thanh - Director of IIMA Digital Human Resources Company (Dong Da ward, Hanoi) - shared that based on reports from many reputable units, some human resources industries will face many difficulties in the second quarter of 2026: Primary/secondary accountants and auditors: AI software integrated with Blockchain can automatically check invoices and detect financial fraud. Data analysis and marketing specialists: AI not only collects data but also launches advertising campaigns and optimizes budgets every hour. Office workers (administrative and coordinating): The arrangement of schedules, management of records and preliminary CV filtering have been perfectly performed by "virtual assistants".
In 2026, businesses do not need someone who knows how to make good reports but need someone who knows how to ask the right questions to AI to produce strategic reports, and at the same time know how to use emotional intelligence (EQ) to persuade customers based on that report," Mr. Thanh said.
Commenting on the harshness of the elimination in the second quarter of 2026, Mr. Thanh said that this reality will be very painful but necessary to reshape the high-quality labor market. "For those who are at the "mid-class" salary threshold in the office, this is a time that is not allowed to stop. Human resources must learn to "cooperate" with AI before it learns to "replace" your position completely," Mr. Thanh emphasized.
