this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2025
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Yeah, that tracks with what I see, at least. Either it's used as an excuse for layoffs that likely would happen anyway given the market, or they're just included in a workflow without firing (the US was already in bad shape after COVID, with tech companies already laying off people they over-hired during lockdown)
I've got a friend who pays under the table to a guy to write and edit instructional videos, and still does that since there's never enough videos to produce for her project. Just, now, the guy uses AI in his workflow and... I'd say maybe produces at about the same pace (fact checking the AI takes time, lol).
But basically, AI didn't replace her copy writer / editor, they just scaled up (or at least, attempted to, lol).
Right after COVID, they used largely unnecessary back-to-work orders to trim the workforce. That was nice for them, as they don't pay severance if you quit over back-to-work.
Now that is exhausted, they can still use AI as cover for hiring less and laying off workforce to avoid spooking investors into realizing they are contracting.
Also remember that tech companies tend to be evaluated based on insane growth predictions, so anything less than that can spook investors and crash their stock price. They are desperate for cover. Same reason they make lots of fake job postings they will never actually hire for. It's all a shell game for the stock price.
I think ai was not just an excuse and that they layed off thinking they could somehow make it up with ai.