CEOs Are Blaming AI for Layoffs. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Says That’s a ‘Lazy’ Excuse.

AI has led to 49,135 job cuts this year so far, reports executive coaching company Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The firm tracked that AI was cited as the reason for a record 55,000 job cuts in 2025 in total, so 2026 is already on pace to exceed last year’s AI-related reductions. 

Now, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the leader of the world’s most valuable company, says that blaming AI for layoffs is “lazy.” 

“I think the narrative that connects AI to job loss for many of the CEOs that are doing it, it is just too lazy,” Huang said in an interview earlier this week with Singapore broadcaster Channel NewsAsia. “AI has just arrived. How is it possible they’re already losing jobs?”

Huang said that some executives were linking layoffs to AI “to sound smart.” “I really hate that,” he said. 

Huang advised leaders to be more cautious when talking about AI’s impact. “I think we’re scaring people, and that’s irresponsible,” he said.

He explained that the tech world needs to talk about AI in a more “balanced” way, recognizing both its huge potential and the need to develop it carefully, with strong security and clear guardrails. “Tell a story that’s optimistic so that people want to be part of it,” Huang said. 

Companies are blaming AI for layoffs

When Meta cut 8,000 jobs earlier this month, its chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, said that the company is building towards a future in which AI agents “primarily do the work.” Meta conducted layoffs to help pay for its planned $145 billion spend on AI this year, mostly for new data centers and AI chips. 

Meta is far from the first company to cite AI when conducting layoffs. In the past year, firms from software to finance have touted “AI efficiencies” while slashing staff. For example, in February, fintech company Block conducted a round of layoffs affecting 40% of its workforce, or around 4,000 people. Block CEO Jack Dorsey cited AI as the sole reason for the cuts. 

“We’re going to build this company with intelligence at the core of everything we do,” Dorsey wrote in a post on X. “How we work, how we create, how we serve our customers.”

In March, software company Atlassian cut around 10% of its workforce, roughly 1,600 employees, as it repositioned for the AI era. 

“We are doing this to self-fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales, while strengthening our financial profile,” Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes wrote in a blog post announcing the news. “We’re also changing the way we work.”

Earlier this month, technology company Cisco announced layoffs affecting up to 4,000 people while reorganizing around AI and redirecting investment into AI-focused roles. Meanwhile, cybersecurity firm Cloudflare said this month that it would cut more than 1,100 jobs, about 20% of staff, as it restructures for what it calls the “agentic AI era.”