Real stories. Real layoffs. The human side of the AI displacement index.
Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes. AI fluency is now part of every Block employee's performance review.
Block is cutting 40% of staff because of AI. Dorsey's letter: customer support, compliance, and software engineering will be 'among the first areas where AI takes the lead.'
Salesforce quietly lays off ~1,000 workers across marketing, product, and data analytics. CEO Benioff previously revealed AI cut customer support from 9,000 to 5,000 — with 50% of conversations now handled by agents.
Chegg stock hit $0.67 yesterday. NYSE sent them a delisting warning. From $113 to 67 cents. The homework help industry doesn't exist anymore. Neither does my freelance tutoring income.
2026 layoff tracker: 49,000+ tech workers cut across 130 companies so far this year. 55% of hiring managers expect more layoffs. 44% say AI is the top driver. This is just February.
BREAKING: Block lays off 4,000 employees — nearly half its workforce. Jack Dorsey says AI-powered smaller teams are the future. Stock surges 24% on the news.
Duolingo tumbles 22% after-hours as company sacrifices profits for AI investment. Stock down 78% from May 2025 peak of $545. CEO pivots to 'AI-first' after replacing 100+ contractors.
Stack Overflow questions down 78% from peak. Monthly posts collapsed from 200,000+ to under 4,000 in December. 84% of developers now use AI tools. An entire era of programming culture, just... gone.
Baker McKenzie, one of the world's largest law firms, cutting up to 1,000 employees as it shifts to AI. Roles affected: research, marketing, know-how, secretarial. Lawyers spared — for now.
Shutterstock down 93% from peak. Getty merger cleared by DOJ but both companies are fighting for survival against Midjourney, DALL-E, Flux. The stock photography industry is over.