The AI Layoff Bill Is Coming Due, And CTOs Are Going To Pay It Twice
>We keep talking about vibe coding and AI adoption as if the only question is whether developers will be replaced. That framing misses the story. The story is that a specific kind of executive, the one who needs a progressive headline every quarter, has been running an uncontrolled experiment on your workforce. The data on that experiment is now in, and it is not flattering.
https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2026/05/14/the-ai-layoff-bill-is-coming-due-and-ctos-are-going-to-pay-it-twice/
@artificial_intel
>I am not anti-AI. I build and ship AI products every day. What I object to is the pattern where a CTO wins applause in Q1 for bold AI-driven headcount cuts, and then in Q4 is quietly rehiring those same roles through an offshore agency while attributing the reversal to “integration challenges.” That is not progress. That is a career arc dressed up as transformation. And it is costing shareholders, employees and customers at the same time.
@artificial_intel
The impression I get is that these CTOs only care about the short term and making themselves look good and creating a big impact. This isn’t just an AI issue.
I’ve seen it so many times with new managers, they come in and feel they have to make their mark. They don’t observe or understand how things are going, they just want to make drastic changes.
In the situation where they get rid of people and slowly rehire, I guess they are just hindering pay growth within the industry? I imagine they rehire people at a cheaper rate than before.
@Schal330 I guess it differs case by case, but generally in IT it is a well known fact that changing jobs is a faster way to get a pay rise. Combined with the fact that rehires happen in a context of urgency, I’d make a guess that people re-enter at a better rate. Of course that’s quite optimistic and supposes that employees are good at negotiating.