The layoff wave and how we can move past the fear
Many people have told me that being part of Gen Z comes with advantages we have time, energy, and plenty of opportunities to shape our careers in the AI era. And I do feel lucky to have grown up with technology, to have had early exposure and opportunities to learn and explore it.
But the AI era feels different. The shift is not only new, it’s happening at lightning speed. Before I’ve even fully adapted to working with AI, we’re already seeing waves of layoffs where human roles are being replaced or reshaped by AI systems. And honestly, that creates uncertainty and anxiety not just for me, but for many people around us.
We’re competing not only with our peers but also with younger generations who may grow up with even more advanced technology than we had.
But this is exactly the moment when we need to slow down, breathe, and see this change as an opportunity to:
Learn how to think and work alongside AI
Use our personal strengths while collaborating with AI tools
Keep learning and expanding our knowledge about AI
Connect with communities to share experiences and grow together
Redefine ourselves and the kind of work we truly want to pursue
Do you feel worried about the current wave of layoffs?
How do you see this shift?
And what are you doing to turn fear into opportunity?
Replies
The pace of change really is insane right now, but I agree with the idea of collaborating with AI. From my own experience, once I started delegating the rough, routine work to models, I suddenly had a lot more energy for strategy and for working with people - which is exactly the part that is hardest to replace ☺️
Murror
@milenap Yes you are right. AI will help us save time on trivial tasks so we can focus on more important ones.
One thing I keep coming back to is that layoffs tend to be framed as 'AI is gonna be replacing humans' when in practice they’re more often organizations re-shuffling around uncertainty. AI becomes the visible catalyst, but fear, short term thinking, and general misalignment do a lot of the damage
What I think helps is separating roles and value. Roles are fragile, but value compounds. The folks who tend to land on their feet are the ones who:
- learn tools fast without letting tools define them
- build judgment, taste, and grasp context (the stuff that’s a lot harder to automate)
- stay connected to real humans instead of optimizing in isolation
Murror
@jamespopstar Your advice is really useful. And I also think that keep learning to adapt and we don't be left behind.
I’ve felt that anxiety too — what helped me most was treating AI as a skill to learn, not a threat to fear. The people who adapt fastest seem to worry the least.
minimalist phone: creating folders
Every era has something good/bad.
I think that even Gen Z is becoming old. 😂
But in general, it is easier to prompt on our PCs rather than fighting somewhere for a piece of land somewhere in 1648.
@monatruong_murror The layoff wave has hit me 3x's in the last 5 years. I'm riding it out by seriously upping my AI skills. Being in Marketing/Sales Ops for 20+ years has given me plenty of ideas for app designs. I'm ready now to execute.
Murror
@d_nov Sound great Davina. I think your 20+ years experience in Marketing will help you so much.