CEO Delusion: Firing humans for AI that doesn't work (yet)

Imagine packing up your desk, handing over your badge, and walking out the door—not because a robot took your job, but because your boss hopes a robot might take your job next year. Welcome to the era of "Anticipatory Layoffs."

A shocking new report from Harvard Business Review exposes the dark underbelly of the current tech pivot. After surveying 1,006 global executives, the data reveals a terrifying trend: companies are aggressively cutting headcounts based on the potential of Generative AI, not its actual performance.

The Efficiency Theater

We are witnessing a massive corporate hallucination. Executives are looking at the dazzling demos of GPT-5 (or 6, or 7) and immediately calculating labor savings. But there is a massive gap between a demo and an enterprise-ready workflow.

The HBR study confirms that these layoffs are almost completely "anticipatory." Leadership is clearing the decks for a miracle that hasn't arrived. They are trading experienced human capital for a promise in a pitch deck. It’s efficiency theater designed to pump stock prices, but the backstage reality is chaotic.

The "Embarrassing Retreat"

Here is where the strategy backfires. The report warns of a looming crisis: the "Rehiring Walk of Shame."

When the AI tools fail to handle complex edge cases, or when customers revolt against soulless chatbots, companies will have to scramble to rehire the very humans they discarded. But the damage will be done. The remaining workforce becomes cynical, trust evaporates, and the company culture turns sour. You cannot automate morale, and you certainly cannot prompt-engineer loyalty.

Don't Fire Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes

The smart play? Incrementalism. The report urges companies to focus on business process redesign before handing out pink slips. If you fire the people who understand the process before the AI learns it, you aren't innovating—you're just lobotomizing your organization.

We are in a dangerous transition period where the hype of AI is destroying livelihoods faster than the technology can actually build new value. The question isn't whether AI will change work. It is whether your CEO is smart enough to wait until it actually works.