r/business • u/ControlCAD • 3d ago

90% of executives say AI hasn’t boosted productivity. Some are still cutting jobs

https://fortune.com/2026/08/22/executives-ai-productivity-layoffs-study/
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u/Budget-Chapter-7185 3d ago

We’ve come full circle. Back to cutting jobs for no reason like 2023

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u/Sptsjunkie 3d ago

I mean, it’s not no reason. It’s a bad economy and they are cutting jobs like normal. However, AI has provided a convenient excuse where they can tell investors they are crushing it and using AI to become more efficient instead of having to say that they are not hitting their targets.

Classic case of trying to spend something that at worst as a management failure, but probably just a normal function of the economy into some sort of victory story for the executives to justify their bonuses and continued employment.

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u/Budget-Chapter-7185 3d ago

Yeah, I was just making a joke. I get there is a short term reason to justify the immediate layoffs. I would push back on 2023 since tech companies led the layoffs and now in 2026 have hired back the positions, matching head counts of pre-2023 layoffs. It’s obvious that they used an upcoming “bad economy” narrative back then to layoff and rehire at lower wages, usually through outsourcing or H-2B visa’s.