Tens of thousands of layoffs are being blamed on AI. What are companies actually getting?

Large U.S. companies are pointing to AI to justify job cuts. But some experts question whether AI is cover for more traditional business challenges.

Some of the largest companies in America have begun capping or reducing their head counts, blaming the promise of productivity with artificial intelligence for their decisions.

Yet, so far, there is uneven evidence that the promised cost-savings from AI are actually worth what companies are putting into it.

This leaves some experts questioning whether AI could be serving as a fig leaf for companies that are laying off employees for old-fashioned reasons, such as financial underperformance or global economic uncertainty.

“It’s much easier for a company to say, ‘We are laying workers off because we’re realizing AI-related efficiencies’ than to say ‘We’re laying people off because we’re not that profitable or bloated, or facing a slowing economic environment, etc,’” David Autor, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote in an email to NBC News.

“Whether or not AI were the reason, you’d be wise to attribute the credit/blame to AI,” wrote Autor, an expert on AI’s impact on workers.