The recent wave of layoffs in the tech industry has increasingly been attributed to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), sparking debates about the true motivations behind these workforce reductions. Companies like Salesforce, Microsoft, and others have pointed to AI as a driver of job eliminations, with Salesforce, for instance, laying off 4,000 workers, primarily customer support staff, while simultaneously ramping up hiring through the H1-B visa program for specialized roles, including AI and data engineering. Critics argue that AI is often used as a convenient scapegoat for broader cost-cutting strategies, such as labor globalization and workforce rebalancing—practices that replace domestic employees with lower-paid H1-B visa holders.

Although AI is undeniably reshaping industries, experts contest the extent to which it can entirely replace human roles, particularly on the scale companies claim. Financial pressures, restructuring budgets, and investor demands for increased efficiency are often hidden drivers behind these layoffs, masking the reality with AI as a buzzword. This trend raises ethical concerns about transparency and corporate accountability, as well as questions about the future of work in an AI-driven economy. Rather than solely blaming AI, experts urge reevaluating workforce strategies to balance innovation with ethical labor practices and employee retraining initiatives.