The Deep View: Why AI makes a convenient layoff scapegoatIt’s still unclear whether AI can do the work of white-collar employees. People are losing their jobs anyway. 

Posted on May 12, 2026 by michelleclarke2015
 
WORKFORCE

Why AI makes a convenient layoff scapegoat

It’s still unclear whether AI can do the work of white-collar employees. People are losing their jobs anyway. 

A recent report from Challenger, Gray and Christmas found that more than a quarter of layoffs in April were attributable to AI, with more than 21,000 cuts announced. AI was used as the leading rationale for job cuts for the second month in a row, according to the report. “Regardless of whether individual jobs are being replaced by AI, the money for those roles is,” Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for the company, said in the report. 

However, one White House official is challenging that narrative: On Monday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC that there is “no sign in the data” that AI has cost anyone their job just yet. Hassett said that companies that adopt AI tend to see “rapid revenue growth” and a bump in employment. “We are studying the future of AI and what it means for the workforce, so we’ve got a big task force on that,” Hassett told CNBC.

These contradictory reports add to a mountain of warring data on the effects of AI on how people work. An MIT study suggests that more than 11% of work hours in the US can already be automated. A Gartner forecast finds that 50% of those laid off due to AI will be rehired. Meanwhile, a Harvard study found that AI actually increases the hours and scope of work, rather than reducing them. 

In the meantime, the layoff toll continues to grow higher. Tech firms like Block, Atlassian, Meta, Oracle, Amazon and more have slashed thousands of employees in recent months as they ramp up spending and reorganize their workforces.  These cuts are likely to continue. A survey of thousands of C-suite executives from AI agent platform Writer in April found that 60% of enterprises intend to lay off employees who can’t or won’t use AI.Despite how enticing the promise of AI may seem, the tech remains incredibly nascent. With issues such as accuracy, hallucination and data security, it’s unclear whether this tech is actuallycapable of taking over jobs entirely — or if it just looks like it can. Either way, AI is likely not the sole reason for these cuts. Rather, it’s the excuse these companies can use. By claiming to reorganize around AI, these companies stand to make themselves appear to be riding the innovation curve. Plenty of tech firms overhired during the pandemic. The reality is that these cuts are more likely AI washing, using the tech as a scapegoat for the reductions rather than admitting they miscalculated.
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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