OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes AI is being used as a scapegoat for recent mass layoffs
Several major companies have pointed to AI as the major factor behind their workforce reductions.
Feb. 21 2026, Published 8:42 a.m. ET
In the last few months, workers in the U.S. have seen a rise in layoffs across multiple industries, including technology, finance, retail, and media. Some of the most well-known firms, like Amazon, Meta, Citi, and others, have also announced workforce reductions as they diverted their investments toward artificial intelligence and automation in order to adjust to changing economic conditions. However, in recent news, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, pushed back on a growing narrative that AI is the main culprit behind these layoffs.
Altman recently sat for an interview during the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, India, where he said, “I don’t know what the exact percentage is, but there’s some AI washing where people are blaming AI for layoffs that they would otherwise do, and then there’s some real displacement by AI of different kinds of jobs." As reported by Business Insider, he added, “I expect we’ll see more of the latter over time.” Altman further claimed that while the rise of AI will open the door to entirely new jobs, its ability to replace human tasks will likely become noticeable in the coming years.
Several major companies — including Amazon, IBM, Salesforce, and HP — have pointed to artificial intelligence as the major factor behind their workforce reductions. But there is no indication that these companies have exaggerated AI’s influence. Just last year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy noted that emerging technologies might bring fresh job opportunities, but they will also make some processes more efficient, meaning they would require fewer employees in certain parts of the business, as reported by Fox Business.
In June last year, he said, "We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today. In the next few years, we expect that [AI] will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company." It's also worth noting that the recent Amazon job cuts represent one of the most significant staff reductions ever carried out by the company since it was founded three decades ago. In January, about 135 corporate staff working at Amazon’s Manhattan office lost their jobs. Apart from this, more than 100 additional employees were laid off across New York, with indications that further reductions could follow in the coming weeks.
It's worth mentioning that there is a range of other factors that may be driving this layoff wave, including changing immigration policies under President Donald Trump and wider economic uncertainty. But many executives have pointed to AI as a key force behind the restructuring efforts. For instance, Citigroup has officially claimed that AI is set to transform how tasks are performed, and UPS CEO Carol Tomé has also made similar claims. However, even the labor market data shows very little sign that AI is the driving force behind the job losses.