Sam Altman Says Companies Are ‘AI Washing’ Layoffs
OpenAI CEO says firms use AI as a scapegoat for cuts, with data showing less than 1% of 2025 layoffs were truly AI-driven.
At the India AI Impact Summit, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman accused companies of 'AI washing'—using artificial intelligence as a convenient scapegoat for layoffs driven by broader economic pressures. He acknowledged real job displacement will occur but argued the current wave of cuts is being mislabeled. Data supports his claim: consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found only 55,000 layoffs in 2025 were directly attributed to AI, accounting for less than 1% of total job losses. A National Bureau of Economic Research paper revealed 90% of executives said AI had no impact on employment in the past three years. Altman's comments highlight the tension between selling AI's transformative power to corporations and managing public fear of mass job loss, as exemplified by Amazon's mixed messaging around its 14,000-person layoff earlier this year.
- Altman coins term 'AI washing' for firms blaming layoffs on AI instead of economic factors, with real AI-driven cuts being a minority.
- Data shows only 55,000 layoffs in 2025 (less than 1% of total) were truly AI-driven, and 90% of execs report no AI employment impact.
- Case in point: Amazon cited AI for 14,000 spring layoffs, then walked it back by October, suggesting a PR strategy over reality.
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