AI the most cited reason for layoffs
Yeah...not the complete lack of any innovative projects in the last decade...
this post was submitted on 04 Jun 2026
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Ai the most given excuse to lay people off to artificially inflate profits
Ftfy
To the financial markets: "AI is allowing is to drastically cut costs by reducing redundant workforce!"
To critically important employees: "We are firing you *wink, wink* and giving you a six month severance package. In the meantime we would be happy to pay for some of your time as a transition consultant and subject matter expert, then finally hire you back after 80 days and after quarterly fiscal report."
"We had to lay them off because ~~cloud computing~~ ~~outsourcing~~ ~~software as a service~~ ~~synergy~~ ~~BEEEEES!~~ I mean, uh, AI!"
-Corporations
Makes me wonder if they are using AI as an excuse to lay off employees who cost more due to longevity, so they can quietly hire replacements who are cheaper. That's probably a factor. But I don't know to what degree.
The linked article specifically claims that salaries for the same positions have gone up
I could see it being possible that some of these AI layoffs that end in rehire just shed a lot of weight and only hire back the ones they actually need. If a company lays off 100 people and hires back 50 at a higher wage, that isn't using AI as a pretext to hire new people at lower wages but that doesn't mean it's not shady still.