Bridging the automation equity divide: a strategic human resource framework for reconciling agentic AI adoption with social sustainability in global supply chain network

Purpose The supply chains of organizations at this viewpoint face a paradox when organizations try to implement agentic artificial intelligence (AI) while they maintain their unofficial dedication to social sustainability goals. This research aims to establish strategic HR leadership as a mandatory function, which needs to balance workforce displacement impacts with the social requirements of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). Design/methodology/approach Approaching it from a viewpoint, the authors have amalgamated key insights from practitioners, recent industry analyses and emerging academic debates in the areas of agentic AI, supply chain resilience and socially sustainable workforce governance. Findings Organizations using AI agents without HR strategic alignment risk jeopardizing their own social sustainability commitments. An HR-centered “Workforce Resilience for Sustainability” framework will serve as an intermediary for ethics between automation’s objectives and their social accountability outcomes. Originality/value The tradeoff between agentic AI–driven displacement and social sustainability in SSCM has not been observed within any previous research. This manuscript provides an operational lens to encode workforce sustainability into the supply chain strategy.