Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, who runs the world’s most valuable company, reckons blaming AI for job cuts is “lazy.”
According to executive coaching outfit Challenger, Gray & Christmas AI has been cited in 49,135 job cuts so far this year. The firm cited AI as the reason for a record 55,000 job cuts in 2025, meaning 2026 is already on course to surpass it.
But according to Entrepreneur Huang claims that is lazy excuse by shonky managers to make them sound clever.
Huang said: “I think the narrative that connects AI to job loss for many of the CEOs that are doing it, it is just too lazy/ AI has just arrived. How is it possible they’re already losing jobs?”
Huang warned that leaders should stop spooking staff every time they discover a new buzzword.
“I think we’re scaring people, and that’s irresponsible,” he said.
He said the tech industry needed a more “balanced” way of talking about AI, which meant recognising its potential while building it with security and guardrails.
“Tell a story that’s optimistic so that people want to be part of it,” Huang said.
Several outfits have been keen to pin staff cuts on AI, because apparently admitting cost-cutting is too honest for modern corporate theatre.
When Meta cut 8,000 jobs earlier this month, Meta chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth said the company was building towards a future where AI agents “primarily do the work.”
Meta said the layoffs would help pay for its planned $145 billion AI splurge this year, mostly on data centres and AI chips.
In February, fintech outfit Block cut 40 per cent of its workforce, or about 4,000 people. Block chief executive Jack Dorsey cited AI as the sole reason for the cuts.
He wrote on X: “We’re going to build this company with intelligence at the core of everything we do. How we work, how we create, how we serve our customers.”
Earlier this month, Cisco announced layoffs affecting up to 4,000 people while it reorganised around AI and shifted investment into AI-focused roles.
Cybersecurity outfit Cloudflare said it would cut more than 1,100 jobs, about 20 per cent of staff, as it restructures for the “agentic AI era.”
Huang’s argument is awkward for executives who want AI to be magic productivity dust and a handy excuse for firing humans before the kit has proved itself.
