The layoffs story isn’t exactly calm
Private-sector job cuts were down a tiny 1% in the first quarter, which sounds like a shrug until you zoom in on tech. There, AI showed up like the intern who somehow got access to the master spreadsheet and started trimming headcount.
Tech is feeling the AI pressure
According to the data in this item, AI was tied to 40% more job cuts in tech. That doesn’t mean every layoff is an AI layoff, but it does suggest companies are moving from “let’s experiment” to “let’s automate the boring stuff and see what happens to payroll.”
For investors, this matters because labor cuts can mean two very different things:
- a company is getting leaner and protecting margins, or
- demand is soft and management is reaching for the scissors
Why you should care
If AI is helping companies do more with fewer people, that can be great for earnings — at least in the short run. But it also raises the usual awkward question: if everyone keeps cutting jobs to boost efficiency, who’s left to buy all the stuff these companies are selling?
Big picture: the job market may still be standing, but AI is clearly taking a bigger bite out of some industries than others.