The Great Salary Reset

How Corporations Are Using AI as Cover for the Biggest Pay Cut in a Generation

You're being conned right now. And I need you to understand exactly how it's happening.

Pinterest just announced it's cutting 15% of its workforce—780 people—explicitly to fund its "transformation into an AI-powered platform." They're reallocating $35-45 million toward AI-focused roles while eliminating hundreds of existing positions.

And they're not alone. Amazon's CEO has linked recent cuts of over 30,000 employees since October to AI-driven efficiency gains and AI investment. The pattern is clear across industries: companies are shedding workers and pointing to AI as the reason.

But here's the thing: these "AI-driven layoffs" aren't actually what they seem.

What we're witnessing is something far more calculated: a reset of the job market designed to make you accept salaries you would have laughed at years ago.

It's greed disguised as innovation.

The AI Excuse That Doesn't Add Up

Let me start with a number that should make you think (and then make you mad):

95%.

That's the percentage of corporate AI pilots that failed to produce any measurable return on investment, according to MIT's 2025 "State of AI in Business" study—which analyzed over 300 AI initiatives across major corporations.

And here's another number to make you think: 40%.

That's the percentage of AI productivity gains that are lost as a result of needing human-in-the-loop rework, a figure brought to us in Workday's new research.

So if AI isn't actually delivering the efficiency gains companies claim, why are they gutting entire departments in its name? Why are the people left behind doing 3-4 people's jobs—for no more pay—when the robots could be doing them?

Yes, some companies did overhire during COVID. But here's the thing: the "correction" we're seeing now goes way beyond fixing that mistake. Companies are using AI as cover to slash deeper than necessary—and to reset salary expectations across entire industries.

The AI narrative gives them PR-approved plausibility for what's really happening: a systematic dismantling of worker leverage and a clawback of the gains workers made during the pandemic. And based on what we're seeing, they're not content just going back to pre-pandemic levels.

The Playbook (And You're Living Through It)

Here's how it works, step by step:

Step 1: Create desperation

• Announce mass layoffs citing "AI transformation" and "operational efficiency"

• Force return-to-office mandates hoping people will quit (saving severance costs—and often hitting older workers by design, who have kids in school, caregiving duties, and real estate)

• Label previously productive and valued people as "low performers" and fire them
  

Step 2: Reset expectations

• Let the job market flood with experienced, desperate workers

• Watch as unemployment drags on for months

• Wait until savings accounts run dry and panic sets in
  

Step 3: Rehire at a steep discount

• When the AI can't actually do all that they promised (because spoiler alert: it can't), quietly start hiring again

• Post the same roles you eliminated, but at significantly reduced compensation

• Hire back the same or similar talent pool—now desperate enough to accept whatever lowball offer you throw their way
  

And this isn't speculation. Forrester Research predicts that half of AI-attributed layoffs will be quietly rehired at lower salaries—and 55% of employers already regret their AI-driven cuts but are filling gaps cost-effectively rather than admitting the mistake. The pattern is already visible. From my community: "I'm literally working at the same company that laid me off two years ago as a contractor with no benefits for half the pay. Because I have no other options. I work at a top AI tech company, and they haven't been able to automate my role like they say. They can just get away with paying me less for it now." - Instagram commenter

"Our whole team was laid off, and I managed to land a spot at a smaller competitor who ended up negotiating a salary of about 10k less than my old salary. I made out better considering a lot of my former coworkers ended up at identical jobs paying up to 40k less." - Instagram commenter

Step 4: Profit

• Stock prices up (from cost cuts)

• Executive compensation packages at record highs

• Workforce costs slashed

• Investors impressed by your "AI-forward" strategy
  

Whether intentional or not, the effect is the same. It's the entire business model right now.

Let's Do the Math (Because the Math Isn't Mathing)

Here's what workers are facing right now:

Cost of living: up significantly in most markets—rent, groceries, healthcare, childcare, everything has gone wild in many areas over the past few years.

Your salary after the "reset": down—by maybe as much as a quarter to half of what you made before the layoff.

Executive pay packages: at record highs. CEOs at S&P 500 companies are making 285 times the median worker salary (up from 21 times in 1965).

The cost of everything you need to survive has skyrocketed, the people at the top are making more than ever, and you're supposed to accept half your previous salary because...AI?

The Ageism Angle People Are Missing

And here's where the AI-driven salary reset hits hardest:

Companies aren't only resetting salaries—they're resetting who they hire.

Older workers—people with 15, 20, 25 years of experience—are being systematically pushed out and replaced with younger workers who:

• Don't know what salaries used to be

• Haven't experienced better workplace conditions

• Are less likely to push back on unreasonable demands

• Cost less in salary and benefits
  

The AI narrative makes this even easier. "We need people who are AI-native" becomes code for "we want cheaper, younger workers who won't question the pay cut."

Given the insane amount of bias against older workers when it comes to AI adoption, this is only going to accelerate. They'll leverage AI as an excuse to replace expensive, experienced workers with cheaper, less empowered ones.

And Gen Z? They're battling "lazy generation" stereotypes while facing a horrific job market, automated entry-level roles, and "starter jobs" requiring 3-5 years of experience.

In short, no one's having much fun at any age right now.

What Corporate Is Betting On

Here's what corporations are counting on:

That you'll accept the narrative and stay silent. They're hoping you won't compare notes with other workers about what's really happening—that you won't see the forest through the trees. That you'll accept their headlines about AI efficiencies without questioning the possible motivations behind such messaging.

That you'll blame yourself. That you'll think you're not "AI-ready" or you need to "upskill" instead of recognizing this as the systemic issue it is.

That you'll be desperate enough to take their weak offer. That after months of unemployment, mounting bills, and dwindling savings, you'll accept whatever they offer.

That you won't organize. That you'll compete with each other for scraps instead of collectively demanding better.

They're betting that your fear will be stronger than your anger.

The Future They're Building (If We Let Them)

If this playbook succeeds, here's what the future of work looks like:

• Salaries cut significantly across the board

• Job security and benefits eliminated (everyone is "right-sizeable," and "AI efficiency" means slashing perks next)

• Constant threat of replacement—not actually by AI, but by someone younger and/or cheaper (with AI as the excuse)

• Workers too afraid to negotiate, advocate, or push back
  

And all of it justified by "innovation" and "staying competitive in the AI age."

This isn't the future of work we want. It's a heist. So What Do We Do About It?

First, stop accepting the narrative. These aren't "AI-driven layoffs." They're profit-driven layoffs using AI as cover to claw back worker gains and overhiring from the COVID era.

Second, talk about it. Share salary information. Share your consulting rates. Share your story. Compare notes on lowball offers. Make the playbook visible so others can see it coming.

Third, ask for transparency. If a company claims AI is replacing roles, ask to see how that's happening. If your boss continually refers to "AI productivity gains" amidst a drumbeat of layoffs, ask to see the data.

Fourth, organize. Whether that's through professional associations, informal networks, or unions—collective action shifts power back.

Fifth, remember your worth. Your experience isn't a liability. Your salary expectations aren't unreasonable. You're not being replaced by AI—you're being exploited by a system that's betting you won't fight back and ask to be paid what you deserve.

The Bottom Line

The AI revolution isn't coming for your job (at least, not yet). But corporate greed—disguised as innovation—absolutely is.

And the only way to stop it is to name it, share it, and refuse to play along as much as possible.

You're not being replaced. You're being conned.

The question is: what are we going to do about it? P.S. If this resonated, send it to someone who needs to read it. The more people who understand the playbook, the harder it is to run.

P.P.S. Workers are already adapting: 40% have taken on a second role, hedging their bets against corporate instability. Many are moving toward gig-work, consulting, and portfolio careers where they have more control over their income—and are not subject to arbitrary "AI-driven" cuts.