Artificial intelligence (AI) will take our jobs – this is what everyone has heard in recent months. Companies like Google, Amazon, and TCS have already laid off thousands of employees as they pivot to a more AI-driven future. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI is likely not the cause of all job losses.
During the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the head of OpenAI believed that companies may be using AI as an excuse to cut staff, which he termed “AI washing.”
“I don’t know the exact percentage, but there is an AI wash going on where people are blaming AI for the layoffs,” he told CNBC TV18.
Is AI really to blame for job losses?
Altman hinted that many companies may be using AI as a reason to lay off employees, even if it wasn’t the root cause of the decision. However, OpenAI’s CEO did not specifically name the company. Sam also acknowledged that many jobs are indeed being directly impacted by AI. He added that “AI is actually replacing many types of jobs.”
Sam Altman is not alone in making such claims. According to a report from consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, approximately 55,000 layoffs in 2025 can be directly attributed to AI. While this sounds like a huge number, it represented less than 1% of all job losses that year.
In the past year, more than 100,000 workers have lost their jobs in the IT sector alone.
A report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a US nonprofit organization, also found that 90% of executives surveyed said AI had no impact on employment in the past three years. Despite these numbers, some companies, including major technology companies, are citing AI as a factor in layoffs.
Will AI create new jobs?
Altman believes that while AI will impact jobs, it could also create new opportunities. He added: “As with every technological revolution, we will find new kinds of jobs.” “But I predict that over the next few years, the real impact of AI jobs will start to become evident.”
Other leaders in the AI field have expressed different views. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that there is no guarantee that AI will create as many jobs as it takes away. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s head of AI, Mustafa Suleiman, has suggested that all white-collar jobs could be replaced by AI within the next 18 months.
Even companies that aren’t focused on technology are using AI to automate tasks. Home décor startup Livspace recently laid off 1,000 employees as it focuses on leveraging AI to improve productivity. Law firm Baker McKenzie is said to have laid off 10 percent of its global workforce as it moves to a more AI-driven approach.
– end
