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The script is getting painfully repetitive now: “We are restructuring to focus on AI.”
It sounds like a strategic move. Almost visionary in its approach. After all, AI is the future. And the future is what we need to focus on.
But look a little more closely and you will stumble on the complicated truth – it is not what AI can do right now, it is about what is believed AI will do in the future and what companies want it to represent.
The shift towards AI is not just a technological shift, it’s in the narrative.
The Scale of Recent Layoffs
Over 1,65,000 technology workers have been laid off in 2026. The reason almost always has been about how companies are now focussing on AI instead.
Speaking in January, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg said: “I think that 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work.” Since then, his companies – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – have laid off hundreds of people, including 700last week.
It sounds like a sensible solution. AI promises efficiency and automation. More output, less cost.
But is that the reality? Most companies over-hired during the pandemic boom. Others are having to respond to slow growth, investor pressure or shifting business models.
And AI becomes a convenient explanation. A future-facing solution for a present-day problem.
AI as Strategy, Not Yet as Reality
There is a major gap between what AI will be able to do in the future and what it can do currently.
Employees in tech companies are being pushed to adopt AI tools which are still in their infancy. They are still inaccurate, unreliable and inconsistent. In several instances, they still lack the context required to achieve the desired result.
The promise is that AI will take over repetitive work, freeing up humans to perform more high-value tasks. But the current situation is that it requires more supervision, more correction and creates more friction.
In several cases, AI is not replacing work, it is transforming it. But even this makes the transition messier in the short term.
The Rise of “AI-Washing”
Blaming AI for layoffs removes all accountability. This has come to be seen as an accepted reality as we progress towards an automated future.
If jobs are lost because of economic reasons or poor strategy, they are management issues. But if it is because of AI, it is inevitable.
Critics are calling this ‘AI-washing’: using the language of language of technological progress to justify decisions driven by cost-cutting or restructuring.
It is a cleaner strategy. One which the investors understand. And one which builds into your company’s narrative about embracing and preparing for the future.
The Psychological Shift at Work
The impact of this on employees is unsettling. They are having to adopt AI tools which are still evolving. These tools will one day alter their jobs or even make it obsolete.
Which puts them in a weird position. They are training a bot which will either alter your job or replace it. From a stable workplace, the shift has been towards constant innovation and adaptability. There is no more clarity about what the future holds, employees are always urged to be prepared for change.
The Last Word
There is no denying that AI won’t transform work. It definitely will.
But the way companies are making decisions based on that seems to be built on expectations than on reality. Investors are counting on it and the market is amplifying it as well. And in that gap between reality and belief, the job market is being transformed.
Once AI reaches its full capabilities, at least to the point where it is replacing human jobs in its current capacity, we will have a clearer picture of how it will transform the employment landscape forever.
In case you missed:
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