In the age of AI, CEOs quietly signal that layoffs are a badge of honor

Andy Jassy sits and holds up his fingers as if to describe how small something is (Credit: F. Carter Smith / Bloomberg—Getty Images)

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Good morning. The wave of layoff announcements over the past few weeks is telling us something, most importantly, something that isn’t as easily measured as the number of jobs eliminated. It’s a change in the business environment. We can see this especially in big-company culture, a shift in what is OK and even virtuous to say out loud. Just maybe it’s signaling a new norm for employment and leadership. At its foundation, of course, is AI, regardless of whether companies say so directly.