Is anyone else feeling the 'AI pivot' gaslighting at work?

The atmosphere in the remaining Slack channels is absolutely suffocating. Leadership keeps pushing this narrative that we are 'becoming an AI-first company,' but it feels like code for 'we are firing the people who understand how to build software and replacing them with tools that struggle to write a basic unit test.' We were told these 8,000 cuts were about 'efficiency' and 'restructuring,' but it feels like a clearance sale of human capital. I’ve seen some of my most talented colleagues let go, only to be replaced by vague mandates to 'incorporate AI' into workflows that were working just fine. It’s impossible to focus on actual engineering when you're constantly looking over your shoulder wondering if an algorithm has already flagged your performance metrics as 'sub-optimal.' Does anyone actually believe this massive shift is going to work long-term, or are we all just waiting for the next round of cuts? I’m hearing from people at other firms that startups are already circling like vultures, trying to scoop up the talent we just tossed out. It’s wild to see the company hemorrhaging institutional knowledge while the executive team doubles down on the hype cycle.