As LinkedIn announces workforce reductions impacting five percent of its overall staff, company co-founder Reid Hoffman, a notorious leftist billionaire, is challenging the technology sector’s growing tendency to attribute job cuts primarily to AI.
The Economic Times reports that LinkedIn, the professional networking platform owned by Microsoft, has announced layoffs impacting approximately 5 percent of its global workforce of 17,500 employees, affecting teams across engineering, marketing, and other departments. The announcement comes as the company’s co-founder and noted pal of Jeffrey Epstein, leftist tycoon Reid Hoffman, raises concerns about the increasing trend of technology companies citing AI as the primary driver behind workforce reductions.
In a post on social media platform X, Hoffman cautioned against oversimplifying the reasons behind tech sector layoffs. “Just a reminder that we’re likely to see more layoffs announced ‘because’ of AI, it makes companies seem strong and moving forward. It’s important not to ignore other factors, including hiring trends 2020-2023, that might be present,” Hoffman wrote.
Hoffman’s comments address what industry observers are calling a pattern of companies using artificial intelligence as a convenient explanation for workforce reductions that may actually stem from other business factors, particularly the aggressive hiring practices that characterized the pandemic era between 2020 and 2023. This is referred to as “AI Washing” in the tech industry.
During the pandemic era, major technology companies expanded their workforces at unprecedented rates, often outpacing actual business needs. An analysis of company filings by the Washington Post revealed that major tech giants including Amazon, Google, and Meta currently maintain employee counts nearly identical to their 2022 peaks, despite implementing multiple rounds of layoffs since then.
This perspective has gained support from other prominent figures in the technology and venture capital sectors. Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist and Meta board member, recently expressed similar views on a podcast. “Now they all have the perfect excuse: ‘It’s AI,’” Andreessen said, suggesting that layoffs at large companies typically result from overhiring or shifting economic conditions rather than automation.
In LinkedIn’s case, CEO Daniel Shapero did not disclose the exact number of positions being eliminated in his internal memo to employees. According to Reuters, the cuts could affect approximately 875 employees. Affected workers were told they would receive notification emails within an hour of the memo’s distribution.
In his memo, Shapero explained the rationale behind the decision, stating that LinkedIn needs to “reinvent” its operational approach by establishing more agile teams concentrated on key priorities. The company plans to redirect investments toward areas such as infrastructure to support its long-term strategic objectives and mission.
Beyond workforce reductions, LinkedIn is implementing broader cost-cutting measures. The company announced it will scale back spending on marketing campaigns, vendor relationships, customer events, and underutilized office space as part of efforts to operate more profitably.
Breitbart News reported today that tech giant Cisco is laying off 4,000 employees, specifically naming AI as the reason:
Cisco announced Wednesday that it will lay off about 4,000 employees, representing five percent of its total staff, as part of a major restructuring effort aimed at prioritizing AI investments. The announcement came in an internal memo from CEO Chuck Robbins and coincided with the company’s third-quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings report, where it reported record-breaking revenues.
The layoffs are part of a broader organizational shift as Cisco reallocates resources toward areas the company identifies as having the strongest long-term growth potential. According to Robbins, these priority areas include AI chips, fiber optics, and security technologies. The restructuring comes despite the company reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly financial results, with record revenue of $15.8 billion, representing a 12 percent increase year over year.
Wynton Hall, author of the instant bestseller Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI, has published a breakdown of the left’s gameplan to weaponize fears of AI job loss before the midterm elections, a political playbook with three parts:
- Convince Americans that mass AI job loss is inevitable.
- Channel that fear and ennui into galvanizing support for Universal Basic Income (UBI) redistribution in the long-term.
- Co-opt populist concerns over AI data centers driving up electricity and water bills for everyday Americans in the short-term.
Read more at the Economic Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.