AI overtook market and economic conditions as the leading reason companies cited for cutting jobs in May, according to the most recent report from Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
US tech industry cut 123,653 jobs since January 2026, up 66% from last year during the same period — AI now the most cited reason excuse for cuts by US employers: report
AI is just another smoke screen. If AI was doing as much as they say, why would a company cut people rather than doing double the work it could do with the same work force?
Executives don’t get bonuses and rewards based purely on “profit”. While there is “profit share” in most companies, that is mostly for the peons. Compared to performance bonuses, stock options, and all the other rewards that require all sorts of accounting shenanigans, profit share is very minor. These types of rewards are mostly based upon meeting specific performance markers. Once those markers are met, they have no need to cut further. In fact, they’re fully aware that cuts will hurt next year’s ability to hit those markers. If they are at the point of doing job cuts in order to meet their bonuses, that means they’ve already turned every other dial and flipped every other switch that they can to push the numbers up.
Also, nobody wants to admit that the economy is spiralling into another great recession, especially not with a nutbag in the white house who will outright attack you and your company if you don’t tow the line and pretend everything is great.
US tech industry cut 123,653 jobs since January 2026, up 66% from last year during the same period — AI now the most cited
reasonexcuse for cuts by US employers: reportNot sure why people live making this distinction. AI is genuinely convincing dumbasses who run these companies that workers are inferior and unneeded.
Call centers maybe. Actual tech companies? No.
AI is just another smoke screen. If AI was doing as much as they say, why would a company cut people rather than doing double the work it could do with the same work force?
Executives don’t get bonuses and rewards based purely on “profit”. While there is “profit share” in most companies, that is mostly for the peons. Compared to performance bonuses, stock options, and all the other rewards that require all sorts of accounting shenanigans, profit share is very minor. These types of rewards are mostly based upon meeting specific performance markers. Once those markers are met, they have no need to cut further. In fact, they’re fully aware that cuts will hurt next year’s ability to hit those markers. If they are at the point of doing job cuts in order to meet their bonuses, that means they’ve already turned every other dial and flipped every other switch that they can to push the numbers up.
Also, nobody wants to admit that the economy is spiralling into another great recession, especially not with a nutbag in the white house who will outright attack you and your company if you don’t tow the line and pretend everything is great.