Tech workers are no strangers to layoffs, with the industry having been rocked by repeated rounds over the last two and a half years – but recent events at Microsoft show some at the top are completely losing the plot.
Hot on the heels of a round of layoffs in June, the tech giant announced plans last week to cut more staff.
Yet more lives turned upside down. But don’t worry, Matt Turnbull, an executive producer at Xbox Game Studios thinks the solution to the wave of stress you’re about to experience lies in speaking to an AI chatbot.
Matt Turnbull, Executive Producer at Xbox Game Studios Publishing - after the Microsoft layoffs - suggesting on Linkedin that may maybe people who have been let go should turn to AI for help. He seriously thought posting this would be a good idea.
— @brandon.insertcredit.com (@brandon.insertcredit.com.bsky.social) 2025-07-07T13:09:58.650Z
In a post on LinkedIn responding to the layoffs, Turnbull rightly noted that these are “really challenging times” for those affected and suggested AI can be used to reduce the “emotional and cognitive load” of job losses.
“No AI tool is a replacement for your voice or lived experience,” he wrote. “But in times when mental energy is scarce, these tools can help you get unstuck faster, calmer, and with more clarity.”
Turnbull suggested that AI can be used to help overcome that pesky imposter syndrome you’re dealing with, spruce up your resume, or even draft messages to improve “networking & outreach”. This sounds like a perfect solution while you ruminate on losing your home and spiraling credit card debts.
It all seems like great advice, providing we completely disregard the timing and the fact it’s coming from an individual linked to a company that has linked its entire future to the promise of AI.
This is without a doubt the most ludicrous piece of advice I’ve ever seen in my life – and that’s saying something given the state of LinkedIn. There’s a reason there are entire communities online showcasing the worst, weirdest, and wackiest posts on the professional networking platform.
Sometimes it’s worth taking a second before clicking that ‘Post’ button on LinkedIn, or any social media site for that matter. Turnbull clearly didn’t get the memo.
Layoffs are traumatic, so cut the garbage advice
Admittedly, using AI to spruce up resumes or support career planning isn’t the worst suggestion out there. I’d still advise against it, but different strokes for different folks.
What this perhaps highlights is a degree of compassion fatigue at play in the industry given the frequency of layoffs.
It’s easy to look at the numbers and think they’re just that, numbers. But behind every penny saved there’s a human worker. People with families to feed, mortgages to pay, and an array of various responsibilities and ambitions in their lives that rest on the security of their job.
This is what makes the corporate jargon bandied around in the wake of layoffs so frustrating. For those at the top it’s an abstract experience. They’re saving money, cutting down bloat in their organization, and ultimately delivering more value for shareholders.
Worse still is when you have said individuals pontificating on how this will make the lives of those who remain at the company better. They’ll be more efficient by working in leaner teams, they’ll have shiny new AI tools to help them ‘streamline’ and ‘optimize’ their daily workflows, they’ll have less red tape to battle through.
It’s cold, heartless, and offensive – but I’m not naive. Sometimes these actions are necessary to keep a business afloat. It’s a fact of life, and sadly, often unavoidable.
What I simply cannot tolerate is the shallow ‘advice’ given by executives unaffected by their own decisions. This was the most jarring I’ve ever seen.
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