Companies Are Laying Off Workers Because of AI’s Potential—Not Its Performance (opens in new tab)

AI has been cited as a cause of layoffs, but is it actually displacing jobs? And if not, what’s going on? Based on a survey of 1,006 global executives in December 2025, AI is behind at least some layoffs, but that these are almost completely in anticipation of AI’s impact. In other words, the job losses and slowed hiring are real, even though companies are still waiting for generative AI to deliver on its promises. This strategy of focusing on short-term gains based on long-term hopes has cos...