Here's something worth chewing on: corporations have found their perfect scapegoat for workforce reductions, and it's called artificial intelligence.

Sure, AI automation is real. But let's be honest—when companies announce layoffs and point to AI as the culprit, there's often more brewing beneath the surface. Cost-cutting pressures? Missed quarterly targets? Market repositioning? Those don't sound nearly as forward-thinking as "embracing technological transformation."

The narrative is convenient. Blaming AI feels modern, inevitable, even responsible. It shifts the conversation away from management decisions or economic headwinds. Instead of saying "we overhired" or "revenue projections tanked," executives can lean into the tech angle.

What's tricky is that AI does displace certain roles—that part isn't fiction. But bundling every workforce reduction under the AI umbrella? That's strategic messaging at work. And employees caught in the middle are left wondering whether they were truly replaced by algorithms or simply part of a broader restructuring plan dressed up in Silicon Valley vocabulary.