Author: TinTinLand

?? In early 2026, while the industry was vying to use OpenClaw's "shrimp farming guide" as a super-powerful work assistant, a wave of layoffs sweeping across Asia from North America never stopped. Faced with the harsh realities of business, this lobster "claw" finally reached out to colleagues, severing the career dreams of many young people.So, is AI a catalyst for rapid career iteration, or an invisible executioner that stifles career aspirations?

Meta announced a new round of layoffs, and Crypto followed suit.

Just two weeks ago, Meta, a tech giant that achieved annual revenue of $200.966 billion last year, announced plans for another round of large-scale layoffs, affecting up to 20% or more of the company's total workforce. On March 19, Crypto.com also announced layoff plans, expecting to affect about 180 employees worldwide, accounting for 12% of its total workforce. As the third round of layoffs in the past three or four years, the reason given this time is not the downturn in the market, but rather "restructuring of AI technology applications"... Overseas giants have successively announced layoff plans, but the root cause is no longer a "forced move" due to the thorny economic market, but rather stems more from the deployment of artificial intelligence tools to improve productivity.

???? Coincidentally, according to a Tech Insider report, the global tech industry confirmed 45,363 layoffs in the first quarter of 2026, with approximately 9,238 positions explicitly attributed to artificial intelligence and automation, accounting for 20.4%. Worryingly, this layoff trend is accelerating, and the total number of layoffs for the year may exceed 260,000. Below is a summary of layoffs at some of the major companies listed in the data ??

@Block plans to lay off over 4,000 employees, representing nearly 50% of its workforce.

@Gemini has laid off approximately 30% of its staff and is deploying AI tools to improve productivity.

@cryptocom has laid off 12% of its staff to advance its enterprise-level AI transformation.

Payments company Atlassian announced it will lay off 1,600 employees, representing 10% of its global workforce.

PIPLabs, the developer of @StoryProtocol, laid off about 10% of its staff and is shifting its focus to AI intellectual property infrastructure.

OPLabs will lay off 20 employees to streamline operations and reduce coordination costs.

- @AlgoFoundation will lay off 25% of its staff.

Meta is planning massive layoffs, potentially affecting 20%+ of its workforce.

- @krakenfx_ZH Approximately 400 employees will be laid off, representing 15% of the workforce, and a leadership restructuring will be implemented.

- @Consensys lays off 20% of its workforce, citing macroeconomic environment and regulatory uncertainty.

?? Among these, Block, a fintech company specializing in payment services, announced in early February that it would lay off approximately 4,000 employees, reducing its total workforce from over 10,000 to less than 6,000, a drop of nearly 40%. This set a record for the largest single layoff in the AI-related industry, triggering anxiety among tech professionals. "When things become clear at this point, it ignites the flames of resistance," said a senior executive at Block. Block offered a clear explanation: the layoffs were not due to a lack of profit, but rather because AI meant the company no longer needed so many people.

The career crisis brought about by AI is an urgent reality that "everything is happening."

?? This approach is very similar to Salesforce's layoff logic, where they mentioned freeing up manpower from repetitive tasks and allocating it to AI-related businesses. Block has taken this action even more thoroughly, directly replacing a large number of basic positions with AI, transforming the company into a lean organization "centered on AI." This massive downsizing in the global tech industry sends an important signal: AI is not only becoming a helper in human life, but also a challenger to human professional survival.

?? The wave of layoffs among corporate giants brought about by the rapid development of AI technology inevitably brings to mind what @mattshumer_ mentioned in a social media post:

??????? Analyzing the wave of layoffs:Who exactly is AI replacing?

?? Undeniably, the rapid development of AI technology is fueling a widespread FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) mentality . Layoffs, as a "belated correction" to technological advancements, are forcing us to re-examine how individuals, as the main actors in the workforce, make career choices and transitions.Professionals are starting to wonder if their jobs will be merged with others, and whether basic assembly line work is no longer a viable option for recruitment.

?? Taking North American tech giant Meta as an example, a 2025 job restructuring and optimization list mentioned the need to move from a multi-dimensional layout of the metaverse to a breakthrough in super AI, further strengthening key capabilities such as super model training, cross-modal fusion, and large model architecture iteration. As a result, the following three business lines were adjusted:

The kind of work that LLM excels at is forcing highly replaceable jobs to the brink of collapse.

?? Meta isn't the only company implementing seemingly realistic layoffs. Amazon, Microsoft, Pinterest, Fiverr, and other large and small companies across various industries are exploring optimal paths to improve human efficiency and productivity, and to phase out traditionally obsolete jobs, especially in areas like junior coding, human resources, and customer service—positions highly susceptible to AI replacement. So, do you know if your own job is also gradually heading towards a precipice in the AI ??wave?

?? On March 5th, the American AI security company Anthropic officially released a research report titled "Labor market impacts of AI: A new measure and early evidence."This report no longer estimates what AI can do in theory, but directly analyzes millions of real AI dialogues in working scenarios to see what AI is actually doing.

?? The report mentions a list of occupational rankings based on "observational exposure indexes." Among them, occupations most affected by AI include "computer programmers," "customer service representatives," "data entry clerks," and "market research analysts and marketing specialists,"which are closely related to the internet technology industry and have a large number of employees.

??? A key observation point for these professions that can be replaced by AI is that their tasks are highly verbal or data-structured, with clear operational boundaries and low reliance on physical perception, emotional communication, or on-site decision-making. This aligns well with the capabilities of AI technology models— LLM excels at handling text and data processing tasks with clearly defined rules. However, professions that rely on physical manipulation, real-time perception, and interpersonal interactionare not yet fully "targeted" by AI.

Finance, media, logistics – the number of professions impacted by AI may exceed expectations.

?? Aside from professions like junior and intermediate computer programmers, which once topped the list of "high-paying jobs," even if you're not in the tech industry, you're inevitably being swept up in this technological wave.If your job possesses one of the following attributes, then the AI ??layoff schedule may soon reach this segment:

?? To put it concretely, for example, Kingdee's AI financial system can automatically complete 85% of accounting processing, and the Big Four accounting firms have already replaced 30% of basic audit positions with RPA. Therefore, tasks such as voucher entry, invoice verification and reconciliation, and fixed-template tax filing performed by basic accountants/tax clerks/bookkeepers will gradually be replaced by AI and executed more quickly. Similarly, Tableau AI can automatically generate 70% of routine reports, indirectly leading to the rapid replacement of junior data analysts/data cleaners' work by AI for automatic cleaning, labeling, and visualization.

?? Even content creation and creative execution positions that demand high levels of creativity and assess raw artistic skills are facing a new crisis due to the rapid rise of graphic and video tools like ByteDance's "Lingxi," Jimeng AI, and Midjourney. The replacement rate for basic copywriting/SEO editing/product detail editing positions has reached 82%, and the replacement rate for basic visual identity creation such as templated posters and flyers, commonly handled by graphic designers, is also around 70%. Any position that doesn't require deep empathy and has a strong structured, standardized nature is likely to be gradually replaced by AI, and this replacement is already underway.

?? In Tesla's Gigafactory production workshop, the automation rate has approached 95%, and the demand for assembly line and basic quality inspection positions has been reduced. Foxconn's "lights-out factory" uses robotic arms and AI vision technology to achieve a welding accuracy of 0.02mm, and quickly implements processes such as standardized parts assembly, repetitive welding, appearance/dimensional quality inspection, and simple material handling. For these traditional industries, apart from complex decision-making, the parts that can be executed by AI can obtain a cost-effectiveness return far exceeding that of traditional manual labor, which is also an important direction for future job adjustments and personnel optimization.

?? Reinventing self-worth andrescuing yourself from the "career disillusionment" brought about by AI

?? Anthropic's research report also reveals a less obvious statistic: the hiring rate for high AI exposure positions among 22- to 25-year-olds has dropped by 14%. Faced with the career transformation and crisis brought about by the AI ??wave, the first lesson young people learn after leaving the ivory tower and entering the workforce is often the disappointment of being "replaceable" in their careers—no one is being forced out, but the doors are no longer open for newcomers.Before we even have a chance to become senior employees and achieve our career goal of "outperforming AI," perhaps we should be thinking about how to leverage current technological thinking to secure a ticket to the career dividends of the coming years.

?? The group facing the highest risks of automation is precisely the group that is least familiar with AI.

Therefore, what we need to do more of is to become familiar with AI, master AI, and accumulate irreplaceable technical skills in professional fields and job market opportunities.

Emotional and interpersonal insights: AI has algorithms, but humans have warmth.

AIGC might be able to simulate language in various production processes, but it still cannot truly understand human emotions. It can generate standardized communication scripts, but it cannot handle complex interpersonal scenarios. Jobs requiring "empathy, listening, and perspective-taking" should be considered.While AI tools can be used to organize consultation records and generate basic suggestions in fields like psychological counseling, high-end sales, and professional healthcare, the human element—the ability to communicate empathetically and provide deep guidance—is crucial for cultivating a strong bond with customers and developing effective communication skills.

Differentiated thinking and expression, giving full play to human creativity.

????♂? More and more operators in the internet technology industry are deeply feeling the threat of AI. However, the greatest benefit that ChatGPT, Jimeng AI, and other similar tools bring is still the ability to quickly generate initial drafts, produce images on demand, and adapt to various platforms—a process that involves complex creative adjustments. Humans, through extensive industry case research and on-site event organization and execution, can still accumulate operational SOPs and methodological insights, catering to the "emotional value" of modern workers and generating more differentiated creative ideas that AI cannot anticipate.

Moving towards high-level strategic planning, the core decision-making still lies with people.

??? Currently, AI technology has demonstrated remarkable capabilities in data processing and trend analysis. While AI can offer trend predictions and suggestions for companies seeking to expand into new markets, the decision-making body still requires humans to consider company strategy, market environment, and team capabilities to bear the risks.Making sound strategic decisions based on data and experience is becoming a real necessity, making strategic consulting a worthwhile option for career transitions and in-depth job seeking.

How can we align the granularity of "AI collaborative symbiosis"in this microcosm of the ?? era?

??? The wave of layoffs in the AI ??era is merely a microcosm of current development. The core orientation of human professional value remains how to skillfully "coexist with AI."Perhaps this crisis itself is not about elimination, but rather about reconstruction and differentiation, with the creativity and substitutability of job positions occurring simultaneously.

??? It eliminates those who only perform repetitive tasks and rewards those who can use AI and possess core competencies. For those who fall into "career loss," they are often those who are unwilling to change and cling to old skills. AI may not be a job killer, but rather an efficiency amplifier. Familiarizing oneself with AI, mastering AI, and focusing one's energy on areas that AI cannot replace may be the best strategy. Proactively embracing change and reshaping value within that change is the core principle.

?? “If you are currently in front of your computer and your work involves taking meeting notes, writing documents, or making PPT presentations, then you should start to be careful.”

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