Ronni ZehaviIf you read the news around the latest rounds of Big Tech layoffs, they’re being treated as an unavoidable consequence of ‘AI transformation’. One that’s shrinking teams and reorganising departments. But artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t forcing leaders to make these decisions, and when they blame the technology, what they’re really admitting is their inability to adapt fast enough.
These job cuts aren’t bold reinvention. They’re a familiar reflex. Cutting people is easy; redesigning work with the right tech systems underneath is hard. Yet it’s the latter that drives long-term performance.
The ‘AI made us do it’ myth
The idea that AI is pushing leaders into layoffs has quickly become one of the most persistent myths of today. While AI is undeniably reshaping work, it hasn’t demanded mass job cuts. Companies are using the narrative as a cover for decisions they already planned to make, or to cover up poor business adaptability in the new AI-led work environment.
AI isn’t the problem. Many organisations are struggling with something far more fundamental: disconnection – between leaders and teams, data and decisions, and insight and action. And the real irony is that AI’s true power isn’t automation but alignment.
When used well, AI joins the dots between people, performance and outcomes. It can be the engine of what I call a modern ‘System of Productivity’: a way of working where people, data, and decisions flow together rather than in silos.
Too many organisations never reach this point. They introduce new tools, build more dashboards, and collect more data – yet still lack the right systems to make it meaningful. In that environment, headcount reduction gets mistaken for efficiency. Companies shrinking in the name of AI aren’t becoming more intelligent, they’re becoming more fragile.
Integration over isolation
The leaders navigating this shift effectively are the ones that see AI as an amplifier, not a replacement – a way to elevate human judgement rather than erase it.
They build cultures where AI doesn’t create distance but gives employees more clarity. Whether it’s spotting early signs of burnout, identifying performance patterns or reducing routine admin, AI is a brilliant co-pilot. It takes pressure off managers’ plates, so they can focus on the jobs only they as humans can do – coaching, collaboration and creativity.
Crucially, these organisations don’t hoard this insight at the top. They distribute it. Every manager, every team, every contributor operates with access to the same information, tools and systems. Alignment is the norm, not the exception.
This is the real productivity revolution; it’s not cutting teams and hoping AI fills the gap.
Connecting the dots
The organisations that thrive in the AI era won’t be the ones that adopt the most tools or make the most people redundant. They’ll be the ones who redesign how people work and use AI to strengthen clarity, confidence and connection. Organisations don’t need fewer humans; they need better ways of connecting them.
Great leaders will: Give employees access to the same information, tools and systems so they move as one, use AI to support human judgement rather than replace it and measure company progress in adaptability, not austerity.
The companies seeing meaningful impact from AI aren’t using it to justify downsizing. They’re using it to link insight to action, break down silos, and ensure teams operate with shared context.
When leaders use technology as an excuse, they end up with less of everything: less trust, less innovation, and less resilience. But when AI is used to create understanding and alignment, it unlocks a version of productivity built not on pressure, but on potential.
Ronni Zehavi is CEO and co-founder at HiBob
