Xbox exec suggests people use AI to lessen the pain of being laid off

Facepalm: Never underestimate an executive's ability to say something that shows a breathtaking lack of awareness. Take a look at Matt Turnbull, Executive Producer at Xbox Games Studio Publishing, for example, who suggested that anyone who has been laid off should reduce "the emotional and cognitive load" that comes with such an awful event by using AI tools. It's an especially jarring comment considering the number of people who are losing their jobs at Microsoft as the company pours billions into AI.

Turnbull has very wisely removed his post, but it was captured by Necrosoft's Brandon Sheffield. The exec started by mentioning these are challenging times – particularly for the 9,000 Microsoft workers who have recent been laid off in the company's fourth round of layoffs in 18 months.

Turnbull said he has been experimenting with ways to use LLM AI tools, including Microsoft's own Copilot, to help reduce "the emotional and cognitive load" that comes with job loss. Turnbull also notes that the newly unemployed are "not alone," though he, of course, was not among those laid off.

Turnbull helpfully included a series of prompt ideas that he believes might help someone who has just lost their livelihood and is feeling "overwhelmed." These included asking an AI to help with career planning, resume and LinkedIn drafts, and networking.

The most impressive prompt suggestion was one for "Emotional Clarity and Confidence," which read, "I'm struggling with impostor syndrome after being laid off. Can you help me reframe this experience in a way that reminds me what I'm good at?"

Turnbull then informed laid-off people that these AI tools can help them "get unstuck faster, calmer, and with more clarity." He also suggests sharing his message with others, somehow managing not to include the popular "no need to thank me" line.

In addition to laying off thousands of people, Turnbull's employer is spending an estimated $80 billion on AI infrastructure over the next financial year, so don't be surprised to see more people replaced as agentic agents take over.

Despite what were obviously good intentions, Turnbull's post is so tone-deaf – even by LinkedIn standards – that one might think an AI wrote it. At least he had the sense to delete it.

Several company CEOs have started admitting that the increased use of AI in businesses will lead to job cuts. Amazon's Andy Jassy said it will replace some corporate workers at the firm, while Ford CEO Jim Farley and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have said the technology could decimate white-collar jobs. Leaders at Shopify, JPMorgan Chase, Fiverr, Moderna, and other big companies are now saying the same thing.

Despite all this investment, AI often isn't the magical, money-saving tool many execs believe it is. We recently heard that call center workers were finding that their AI assistants created more problems than they solve.