AI is a tool, not a layoff plan.
EXPERT OPINION BY BILL FOTSCH, FOUNDER, ECONOMIC ENGAGEMENT
Too often, a company invests in AI, then lays off employees. That may impress a few analysts in the short term, but it is a lousy way to build trust, loyalty, or long-term value. Bob Chapman, the former CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, has said layoffs are a failure of management. I agree.
Companies would be foolish to stay out of the AI game completely. The answer is to use AI to both grow revenue and reduce costs.
That may sound obvious, but it changes the whole conversation. Instead of asking, “How many jobs can we eliminate?” the better question is, “How can AI help our valued people create more value for customers?”
One of the biggest mistakes leaders make
One of the biggest mistakes leaders make with AI is treating it mostly as a labor-reduction tool. AI can certainly reduce repetitive work. But if that is where the strategy ends, you may save some cost and lose something more important: employee commitment, customer knowledge, and institutional experience.
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AI is good at speed, data processing, pattern recognition, summarizing information, drafting first versions, and handling repetitive work. People are still better at judgment, relationships, creativity, problem-solving, and understanding customers.
AI can make good employees more valuable
I have seen this in smaller companies, not just large technology firms. Gemini, a 50-person company I invested in and serve as a board member, uses Claude to help its programmers build new features faster. The company helps doctors, patients, and health plans identify effective, lower-cost drugs. Customers keep asking for more functionality, and each new feature adds value.
AI is helping the programming team produce more without simply adding headcount. The result is not layoffs. It is more customer value, more revenue opportunities, and more productive employees.
Source: www.inc.com
