{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1736122,
        "msgid": "high-layoff-wave-is-ai-the-culprit-1778656133",
        "date": "2026-05-13 10:35:00",
        "title": "High Layoff Wave, Is AI the Culprit?",
        "author": "Zulfikar Hardiansyah",
        "source": "KOMPAS",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Technology",
        "summary": "Global tech giants like Meta and Microsoft are laying off thousands of employees amid slowing growth, while ramping up massive investments in AI infrastructure. Although executives claim AI enhances productivity rather than replacing workers, critics argue it's often used as a scapegoat for cost-cutting restructurings, a phenomenon dubbed \"AI Washing.\" This trend highlights how AI is reshaping work by enabling smaller teams to achieve higher outputs, as evidenced by Google's reported 10% productivity boost for engineers.",
        "content": "<p>KOMPAS.com - Layoffs are looming over the global technology industry.\nIn recent times, several tech giants such as Meta and Microsoft have\ndismissed thousands of employees.<\/p>\n<p>However, amid these high layoff figures, companies\u2019 spending on AI is\nactually increasing. For instance, Meta cut around 10 percent of its\nworkforce. On the other hand, their AI spending reached hundreds of\nbillions of US dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to this phenomenon, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasised\nthat AI is not intended to replace humans but to enhance productivity.\nHe even stated that in the future, \u201cpeople will become more important,\nnot the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, the phenomenon of high layoff waves accompanied by massive\nallocations for AI infrastructure appears to reinforce that the\ntechnology will replace humans.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, AI does not directly replace humans. AI is instead used\nas an excuse for companies\u2019 business efficiency decisions by cutting\nemployees.<\/p>\n<p>Cognizant\u2019s Chief AI Officer, Babak Hodjat, said that AI is often\nmade a \u201cscapegoat\u201d in company restructurings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes AI becomes a scapegoat from a financial perspective. This\ncan happen when companies have hired too many people or want to\nstreamline the organisation,\u201d Hodjat told TechSpot.<\/p>\n<p>This view aligns with the phenomenon known as \u201cAI Washing\u201d, where\ncompanies use AI narratives to wrap traditional business decisions like\ncost efficiency.<\/p>\n<p>Even a survey of hiring managers showed that around 59 percent of\ncompanies admit they emphasise AI in layoff announcements because \u201cit\nlooks better to stakeholders\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to AI Washing, the context of the era in which these\nlayoffs and AI developments occur is also important.<\/p>\n<p>During the pandemic, tech companies undertook massive expansions and\naggressive hiring. Now, with growth slowing, they are entering a\ncorrection phase and are forced to conduct layoffs, accompanied by\nexpansions into AI.<\/p>\n<p>Several tech executives may argue that AI will change the way work is\ndone, not directly replace people. This means AI still plays a role in\nthis change.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than directly replacing jobs, AI is more about changing how\nwork is performed. Companies now demand the same, or higher, output from\nsmaller teams with the help of AI.<\/p>\n<p>Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated that AI adoption has increased\nengineer productivity by around 10 percent.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/high-layoff-wave-is-ai-the-culprit-1778656133",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}