As rounds of layoffs continue within a historically strong stock market and resilient economy, it is still uncommon for companies to link job cuts directly to AI replacement technology. IBM was an outlier when its CEO told the Wall Street Journal in May that 200 HR employees were let go and replaced with AI chatbots, while also stating that the company’s overall headcount is up as it reinvests elsewhere. Fintech company Klarna has been among the most transparent in discussing how AI is transforming – and shrinking – its workforce. “The truth is, the company has shrunk from about 5,000 to now almost 3,000 employees,” Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told CNBC’s “Power Lunch” in May. “If you go to LinkedIn and look at the jobs, you’ll see how we’re shrinking.” But employment experts suspect that IBM and Klarna are not alone in AI-related purges. It’s just that firms often limit their explanations to terms like reorganization, restructuring, and optimization, and that terminology could be AI in disguise. “What we’re likely seeing is AI-driven workforce reshaping, without the public acknowledgment,” said Christine Inge, an instructor of professional and executive development at Harvard University. “Very few organizations are willing to say, ‘We’re replacing people with AI,’ even when that’s effectively what’s happening.” “Many companies are relying on these euphemisms as a shield,” said Jason Leverant, chief operating officer and president of AtWork Group, a national staffing franchise that provides over 40,000 workers to companies across a variety of sectors.

Full report : Some companies are transparent about their layoffs and inclusion of AI tools while others are not.