Technology
AI Didn't Steal Your Job - Your CEO Just Blamed It on AI
AI isn't the main cause behind tech layoffs—over-hiring during the pandemic is. But as AI capabilities accelerate, upskilling is critical for Indian IT professionals.
DE
Dumtika Editorial
March 23, 2026 · 3 min read
(Image: Dumtika Editorial)
Every other headline these days screams the same thing: AI is coming for your career. Entire LinkedIn feeds are filled with doom, anxiety, and hot takes about machines replacing humans. But before you spiral into panic, let's take a step back and look at what's actually happening because the story is a lot more nuanced than the headlines suggest.
The Real Root: A COVID Hiring Hangover
To understand the current wave of layoffs in tech, you have to rewind to 2020 and 2021. When the pandemic hit, the world went digital overnight. Companies scrambled to build infrastructure, ship products, and scale platforms to meet an explosion in online demand. The result? A historic hiring spree. Tech giants and startups alike brought on thousands of employees at a pace that, in hindsight, was simply unsustainable.
When the dust settled and growth normalized, many of these companies found themselves overstaffed. The demand that fueled the hiring boom cooled off, but the headcount remained bloated. Layoffs were inevitable not because robots showed up, but because the math stopped working. The correction had been brewing long before ChatGPT became a household name.
The Convenient Narrative: AI as the Scapegoat
Here is where things get interesting. Announcing layoffs is never good for morale, but it can be very good for stock prices if you frame it correctly. Wall Street loves efficiency. When a company says, "We are restructuring to invest in AI," investors hear growth, innovation, and leaner operations. The stock ticks up. Executives look visionary.
In reality, many of these layoffs are the tail end of pandemic over-hiring dressed up in a shiny AI wrapper. Blaming artificial intelligence for job cuts is a convenient story that satisfies shareholders, deflects blame from poor workforce planning, and positions leadership as forward-thinking. It is corporate storytelling at its finest. The jobs were going away regardless; AI just gave boardrooms a better press release.
But Don't Get Comfortable
Now, here is the part where the tone shifts. Just because AI is being used as a convenient excuse today does not mean it won't be a genuine force tomorrow. The pace of advancement in this field is staggering and that part is not exaggerated. Models are getting smarter, faster, and cheaper at a rate that catches even seasoned engineers off guard. Tasks that seemed safely human writing code, analyzing data, designing interfaces, managing workflows are increasingly within reach of AI tools that improve by the month.
If you are an IT professional, this is your moment to stay sharp. The threat may be overstated right now, but complacency is dangerous. Upskill relentlessly. Learn how to work alongside AI rather than compete against it. Understand prompt engineering, automation pipelines, and how these tools integrate into real-world systems. The professionals who thrive will not be the ones who ignore AI or fear it they will be the ones who master it.
The Bottom Line
AI is not the reason most people lost their jobs this year. Pandemic-era over-hiring and Wall Street incentives are. But make no mistake the technology is advancing at an extraordinary speed. Stay informed, stay adaptable, and never assume your skill set has a lifetime guarantee. The best defense against disruption is not denial. It is evolution.
