Are we nearing the end of tech layoffs? Or are they just the beginning?

Meta recently announced that around 8,000 people will be let go, representing 10 percent of its workforce. Earlier in the year, Amazon announced approximately 16,000 will be affected by workforce reorganization. Tech companies are citing higher investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure as the reason why such corporate reorganizations — that is, mass layoffs — are necessary to remain competitive — which is to say, to make more money for shareholders.  

None of this AI-driven workforce reorganization should come as a surprise. With so many tasks digitized today, the creation of the necessary digital infrastructure was inevitable, requiring larger amounts of computer code to be written and tested to produce the necessary results.

As large language models like Anthropic’s Claude have become adept at creating code, the need for human coders has shrunk. Even though such code may still need some human oversight, large language models’ coding capabilities devalue the skills provided by entry-level coders.

The current round of layoffs has focused on white-collar, middle management positions. These people oversee workflow and ensure that tasks are done properly. The expectation is that AI will allow companies to function without as much middle management bloat.  

Recall that tech job openings peaked in 2022, after which they........

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