--- title: "CEOs Are Publicly Boasting About Reducing Their Workforces With AI" description: "Workforce reductions are no longer an admission that companies are struggling — CEOs are using them to boast about their investments in AI." date: "2025-08-02" modified: "2025-08-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/ceos-boasting-reducing-workforces-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai automation" - "artificial intelligence" - "ceos" --- # CEOs Are Publicly Boasting About Reducing Their Workforces With AI ![Workforce reductions are no longer an admission that companies are struggling — CEOs are using them to boast about their investments in AI.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Pink Slip Pride Workforce reductions are no longer an admission that companies are struggling; instead, CEOs are using them to boast about their investments in AI. As the [*Wall Street Journal* reports](), CEOs are now bragging about shrinking their companies' staff, highlighting a cooling job market and an unwavering commitment to automation at all costs. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg told investors last week that the telecom had been "very, very good" on headcount, meaning that "it's going down all the time," as quoted by the *WSJ*. "Being honest about cost and head count isn’t just allowed — it’s rewarded," Sloane & Co strategic advisor Zack Mukewa told the newspaper, noting that changes in how we view headcount reductions have become a "powerful kind of reframing device." Put simply, firing human workers has turned into a perverse point of pride among the C-suite class, a worrying new reality as executives continue to [lay off thousands of workers]() while simultaneously making deep investments in AI tech. ## Super Pumped Worse yet, the industry has shown few signs of fighting back. "I’m worried it’s happening in plain sight with no blowback, no pushback, and it’s going to become the norm," Brookings Institution senior fellow Molly Kinder told the *WSJ*. "I don’t think that’s good news for the American worker." The brash and brutally honest tone of executives bragging about headcount reductions is reaching astonishing levels. "CEOs are extremely excited about the opportunities that AI brings," AI advisor Elijah Clark [told *Gizmodo*]() recently. "As a CEO myself, I can tell you, I'm extremely excited about it. I've laid off employees myself because of AI." "AI doesn't go on strike. It doesn't ask for a pay raise," he added. "These things that you don't have to deal with as a CEO." Others are taking on a slightly more optimistic tone, predicting that AI tech could lead to the creation of new types of jobs. "Some jobs will be lost," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang [told *CNN*]() last month. "Many jobs will be created and what I hope is that the productivity gains that we see in all the industries will lift society." **More on AI automation:** *[Microsoft Releases List of Jobs Most and Least Likely to Be Replaced by AI]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()