• Casterial@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      2 months ago

      Definitely excuse. So many of these companies dramatically over hired during COVID, then after COVID saw a normalization of profits, and a loss because they over hired.

      Take block for an example, double or tripled their employees since COVID, but around 2022-2023 their profits fell off hard - they said “AI” is why they’re doing cuts. No, they’re doing cuts because they’re going under

      • bigfish@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        2 months ago

        Even more simply, demand is drying up as people are getting squeezed from small wage gains and huge inflation. Low demand for goods and incessant demand for “stakeholder value” means cuts have to come. If they’re not in quality, it’s in overhead (staff) - or both. And now bosses have excuses for both back-office and production staff - “automation” and “AI” respectively.

        • Casterial@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          2 months ago

          Since this time period I’ve noticed a severe drop in quality from software companies, to the point I have stopped using most products - which in a result drops the companies profits more 😂

      • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        2 months ago

        I never understood how they were so deluded into thinking it was permanent. Sure we didn’t know how long it would last but we knew it wasn’t permanent.

        CEO of zoom was legit shocked when their stock normalized.

    • Dryad@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      2 months ago

      Thank you. It can’t be both the reason for job cuts yet not show massive productivity gains. The reason is corporate greed in a squeezed economy.

      • unitedwithme@lemmy.today
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        2 months ago

        Gotta make the DOW over 50k remember, can only get profits from cutting your expenses, and Lord knows idiot CEOs won’t cut ai spending.

    • tidderuuf@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      2 months ago

      It’s Fox Business. The literal mouth piece of the elite and billionaire/Epstein class.

      If there’s anything wrong with the economy it’s because of Democrats, Progressives, Socialists, Immigrants, Avocado Toast. In that order.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      2 months ago

      It seems the Epstein Class knows the game is up and is grasping for every single dollar before the house of cards collapses, and if all they have to do is just reach out and take the salaries of 150,000 people that they don’t even consider people, it’s an easy decision.

  • IWW4@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    20
    ·
    2 months ago

    It is such bullshit.

    Company’s are shedding staff because they are either in financial trouble or a greedy but don’t want to admit either. If they did the stock would tank!

    • Windex007@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      2 months ago

      Or perhaps in some cases, neither, and they’re just developing a narrative that the markets reward.

      My company is laying people off. But also replacing them not with AI, but with contractors. And now, some new designation of “per project contracts” or something.

      Anyhow, net effect? Less work useful work getting done, new cost of AI tools, AI tools not generating any value, and if you count total humans in the mix, it’s at least as many as before.

      Moving our product has never been more expensive and we’ve never done it this poorly before. But the market just sees “layoffs due to AI” and think it’s because we (and others) have cracked the code of how to substitute humans with AI to save labour costs. We haven’t. Not even CLOSE.

  • Onno (VK6FLAB)@lemmy.radio
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    2 months ago

    AI remains top reason excuse for US job cuts for third straight month as employers axed 97,000 workers in May

  • A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    2 months ago

    Talk your way out of that, Bezos, Thiel, Altman, Musk, Pichai, Nadella, and the Zuck of course.
    I dare you.