Sam Altman says some companies are ‘AI washing’ by blaming unrelated layoffs on the technology — but admits things may get worse soon

• Sam Altman criticizes companies for blaming job cuts on AI
• Many companies are using AI to their advantage to imply readiness
• "Whole classes of jobs" will be lost, but "we'll find new kinds of jobs"

Speaking with CNBC-TV18, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared many companies could be blaming AI for layoffs which would have happened anyway, and criticized them for 'AI washing'.

However, while Altman stressed the importance of understand that artificial intelligence isn't to blame for every series of layoffs lately, the tech still has some accountability in displacing human workers.

For now though, while we remain in the early years of AI adoption and what it can do for companies, the true effects of the technology remain vastly unclear.

Sam Altman says not all 'AI layoffs' are caused by AI

"I would expect that the real impact of AI on jobs, in the next few years, to begin to be palpable," Altman explained, indicating early bumps could be ironed out as we get better insights into which roles may no longer survive in an AI-driven era.

So far in 2026, more than 92,000 tech workers have been laid off (per layoffs.fyi), with a large number of those attributed to AI in one way or another – be it efficiency and productivity gains or company and investment shifts.

That being said, some firms may actually benefit from framing job cuts as being AI-driven because it shows they're investing in future technologies – the reality is that investors react to many more signals than just productivity and headcount.

"Of course we'll find new kinds of jobs," Altman said, asserting that AI isn't set to have net negative impacts on the labor market.

The OpenAI CEO has previously spoken out about the technology's impacts on human jobs. "There will be very hard parts like whole classes of jobs going away, but on the other hand the world will be getting so much richer so quickly that we’ll be able to seriously entertain new policy ideas we never could before," he wrote in 2025.

He drew reflection on history: "We will figure out new things to do and new things to want."

The message is clear – AI disruption is inevitable and, depending on job roles, could be destructive. However its net impacts, just like other technological and revolutionary shifts, might not be that bad after all.

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