Wayfair, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Meta just dropped another round of layoffs. The excuse? “AI restructuring.” Translation: replace people with machines and dress it up like progress.

Now I’ve been in tech long enough to know we’ve always automated. But when the axe falls this hard and fast, you’ve got to ask—what are we optimizing for? If it’s shareholder smiles at the expense of loyal teams, something’s broken.

My sisters and brothers running small shops—don’t take the bait. AI’s great for streamlining, sure. But don’t ditch your human capital chasing shiny automation. Use AI to support your team, not eliminate them. Loyalty and creativity don’t come from code.

Here’s the full Business Insider layoff list if you want receipts.