AI vs. humans: Sam Altman says some companies are using AI as an excuse to fire employees
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has claimed that while AI is impacting jobs, many companies are also using it as an excuse to fire people, a practice he calls “AI washing”.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will take over our jobs – it’s something we’ve all heard over the past few months. Companies like Google, Amazon and TCS have already laid off thousands of employees, citing the switch towards a more AI-driven future. However, according to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, AI is likely not the cause of all job losses.
During the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the OpenAI chief acknowledged that companies could use AI as an excuse to cut jobs, a method he called “AI washing”.
❮❯
“I don’t know what the exact percentage is, but there is some AI washing where people are blaming AI for layoffs they otherwise would have had,” he told CNBC TV18.
Is AI really responsible for job losses?
Altman indicated that many companies may use AI to lay off employees, even if it is not the original reason for the decision. However, the OpenAI CEO did not name any companies specifically. Sam also acknowledged that many jobs are actually being directly impacted by AI. “There has been some real displacement by AI in a variety of jobs,” he added.
Sam Altman is not alone in making this claim. A report by the consulting firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, shows that about 55,000 layoffs in 2025 were directly attributed to AI. While this sounds like a large number, it represents less than 1 percent of all job losses that year.
Last year alone, more than 1 lakh employees lost their jobs in the IT sector.
A report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a US non-profit, also found that 90 percent of executives surveyed said AI has had no impact on employment over the past three years. Despite these figures, some companies, including major tech employers, have cited AI as a factor in headcount reductions.
Will AI create new jobs?
Altman believes that while AI will impact jobs, there is also potential for new opportunities. “We will create new kinds of jobs, as we do with every technological revolution,” he said. “But I would expect the real impact of AI on jobs to become apparent in the next few years.”
Other leaders in the AI field have expressed different views. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warns that he cannot guarantee that AI will create as many jobs as it displaces. While Microsoft’s AI chief Mustafa Suleiman has indicated that all white-collar jobs could be replaced by AI within the next eighteen months.
Even companies that don’t focus on technology are automating tasks with AI. Home decor startup Livspace recently laid off 1,000 employees as it focuses on using AI for productivity. Baker McKenzie, a law firm, is said to have laid off 10 percent of its global workforce as it moves towards a more AI-powered approach.
