## AI Gets the Blame for 55,000 Layoffs, But CFOs Are the Real Culprits

The headlines are stark and unsettling. Tens of thousands of jobs are vanishing, and a new villain has entered the narrative: Artificial Intelligence. It’s a clean, futuristic, and impersonal reason for mass layoffs. It suggests an unstoppable technological tide, an evolution that companies must adapt to or perish. But this narrative, while convenient, obscures a much simpler and more human truth. AI isn’t firing people; executives are.

When a company announces a major workforce reduction, citing the adoption of AI, it’s a masterful piece of public relations. It frames a cold, calculated business decision as a forward-thinking strategic pivot. Instead of saying, “We are cutting costs to increase our profit margins for shareholders,” they can say, “We are restructuring for the future and embracing AI-driven efficiency.” One sounds ruthless; the other sounds innovative.

Let’s be clear: Artificial Intelligence is a tool. It is a sophisticated hammer, a powerful spreadsheet, a revolutionary piece of software. It does not have agency. It does not analyze market conditions and decide that the company’s Q3 earnings need a boost. It does not weigh the cost of human capital against the potential for automation. People do.

Specifically, Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and the C-suite are the ones making these calls. Their primary mandate is to maximize financial performance and shareholder value. In a high-interest-rate environment with pressure to show growth, reducing headcount is one of the oldest and fastest levers to pull to cut expenses.

AI provides the perfect justification—a modern-day excuse for a timeless corporate maneuver. The logic presented to the public is that new technology has made certain roles redundant. In many cases, however, the layoffs are happening *before* the AI systems are even fully implemented or capable of replacing the complex work of the employees being let go. The *promise* of future AI efficiency is being used to justify a present-day financial decision.

The stock market often rewards this behavior. When a company announces layoffs coupled with an “AI strategy,” its stock price frequently jumps. Investors see a commitment to cutting costs and embracing technology, translating to healthier profits down the line. This creates a powerful incentive for leadership: make the cut, blame the machine, and get rewarded by Wall Street. The human cost is treated as a necessary, and even laudable, externality.

Blaming AI allows us to sidestep a much more uncomfortable conversation about corporate priorities. It allows executives to deflect responsibility for the profound impact these decisions have on thousands of lives, families, and communities. It’s easier to point to a complex algorithm than to a spreadsheet in the CFO’s office where employees are reduced to line items on a balance sheet.

The technology is transformative, and it will undoubtedly change the nature of work. But it is not the architect of today’s layoffs. It is the socially acceptable alibi for a round of cost-cutting driven by financial targets, market pressures, and executive decisions. The next time you read a headline blaming AI for lost jobs, look past the silicon scapegoat and towards the boardroom. That’s where the real decisions are being made.