I lost my job to AI. Here’s why mass layoffs won’t transform your company - Fortune

On April 25, 2026, Fortune published an opinion article by Mark Quinn, Head of AI Operations at consulting firm Pearl. Quinn argues that effective AI adoption requires retraining existing staff for new responsibilities rather than conducting workforce reductions. He writes that when each advance in AI capability triggers a fresh round of layoffs, companies progressively shrink and lose the institutional knowledge that supports operations.

Quinn’s op-ed draws on observations of companies that successfully integrate AI: they rebuild job functions through a process of “net-new positions within current capacity” that requires leadership preparing staff via staged skilling and augmentation rather than redundancy cycles. No aggregate figures are cited for retraining success rates or employee retention numbers; the argument is policy- and principle-based.

The article surfaces amid announced reductions from Meta and Microsoft, collectively exceeding 20,000 positions that both companies attributed partly to reallocation of resources toward AI investment. Quinn’s consultancy Pearl advises businesses on large-scale operational change, including elements connected to machine-learning deployment impact planning.