It’s still unclear whether AI can do the work of white-collar employees. People are losing their jobs anyway.

A recent report from Challenger, Gray and Christmas found that more than a quarter of layoffs in April were attributable to AI, with more than 21,000 cuts announced. AI was used as the leading rationale for job cuts for the second month in a row, according to the report.

“Regardless of whether individual jobs are being replaced by AI, the money for those roles is,” Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for the company, said in the report.

However, one White House official is challenging that narrative: On Monday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC that there is “no sign in the data” that AI has cost anyone their job just yet. Hassett said that companies that adopt AI tend to see “rapid revenue growth” and a bump in employment.

“We are studying the future of AI and what it means for the workforce, so we've got a big task force on that," Hassett told CNBC.

These contradictory reports add to a mountain of warring data on the effects of AI on how people work. An MIT study suggests that more than 11% of work hours in the US can already be automated. A Gartner forecast finds that 50% of those laid off due to AI will be rehired. Meanwhile, a Harvard study found that AI actually increases the hours and scope of work, rather than reducing them.

In the meantime, the layoff toll continues to grow higher. Tech firms like Block, Atlassian, Meta, Oracle, Amazon and more have slashed thousands of employees in recent months as they ramp up spending and reorganize their workforces.

These cuts are likely to continue. A survey of thousands of C-suite executives from AI agent platform Writer in April found that 60% of enterprises intend to lay off employees who can’t or won’t use AI.

Our Deeper View

Despite how enticing the promise of AI may seem, the tech remains incredibly nascent. With issues such as accuracy, hallucination and data security, it’s unclear whether this tech is actually capable of taking over jobs entirely — or if it just looks like it can. Either way, AI is likely not the sole reason for these cuts. Rather, it’s the excuse these companies can use. By claiming to reorganize around AI, these companies stand to make themselves appear to be riding the innovation curve. Plenty of tech firms overhired during the pandemic. The reality is that these cuts are more likely AI washing, using the tech as a scapegoat for the reductions rather than admitting they miscalculated.