AI TOOK MY JOB

Steven Cesare, Ph.D.

A business owner from Florida called me the other day to discuss his Company’s employee lay off process. Like most forward-thinking organizations, the business owner has conducted a series of standing meetings with his leadership team to identify how Artificial Intelligence will redefine his Company’s business operations, staffing levels, and procedural efficiency.

You knew this day was coming.

Well, it’s here. And it’s not going away.

With reference to staffing, the first position identified to be eliminated at the Florida Company is the Bookkeeper. That in and of itself is a telling comment. This elimination is not personal; it is not performance based; it is not a termination. This elimination is a layoff due to restructured work responsibilities as part of the Company’s ongoing cost containment initiative. The position, the funding, and the box on the organizational chart are now gone.

Have you seen any full-service gas station attendants, ushers in a movie theater, or travel agents lately?

This is where Gen Zers say, “Full-service what?”

Every employee who does not think about being replaced by AI every day will probably be laid off sooner than they think. Functions like accounting, administration, marketing, information technology, mid-level management, human resources, customer service, computer-assisted landscape design, estimating, landscape architecture, project management, and even account management have all been mentioned to me by landscapers as possible targets.

Back to Florida. The business owner has more compassion than is commonly seen in this transitional society uniformly transfixed on exposing past misassumptions, questioning current trends, and awakening to uncertain future challenges. Accordingly, he and I acknowledged the Bookkeeper will be the “first” position to be eliminated, and as such, he wants to address this sequence with as much interpersonal sensitivity as possible, all the while remaining cognizant of the ubiquitous business pressures on his company to remain viable in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

As I was told: The Bookkeeper is a “nice person,” who does average work, and has been with the Company for three years. He’s part of the team. The decision is not personal; it’s only about business.

The business owner’s initial consideration was to give the Bookkeeper a 90-day advance notice of the planned position deletion. I told you he was compassionate. Instead, I suggested a 30-day notice acknowledging that the Bookkeeper will be honestly preoccupied with his job search and will likely exhaust all available PTO balances as he interviews for a new position. The 90-day timeline caused me some concern for the Company culture; having a “lame duck” employee for that extended timeframe could have potential negative impact on how the “survivor” employees may begin to view the company, its leadership team, as well as their own future employment status.

I also recommended the business owner consider giving the Bookkeeper a one/two-week severance package and a letter of reference capable of being forwarded to potential future employers. As a capitalist, during our conversation, I admonished the business owner to be prepared for possible counter offers from the Bookkeeper. For example, the Bookkeeper could propose getting a three/four-week severance package, having the Company pay his COBRA expenses for a year, and keeping him “on the payroll” so his resume would show continuous employment during his job search. Rest assured: All these issues will serve as precedents for the next round of AI-generated staffing changes.

“Yes,” those full-service gas station attendants really would check your engine oil and radiator water while filling your car’s gas tank.

By the way, have you heard about robotic lawn mowers?

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