White House Science and Technology Advisor Michael Kratsios said some companies are blaming artificial intelligence for layoffs they likely would have carried out anyway, arguing the explanation "plays better in the press." During an appearance on the "Moonshots with Peter Diamandis" podcast, Kratsios stated, "I think like a lot of folks these days like when they’re doing a layoff that they would have done anyway, just like to assign it or blame it to AI because it plays better in the press." Podcast host Peter Diamandis suggested companies may benefit from framing job cuts as AI-driven efficiency improvements because markets often reward higher productivity with fewer workers, noting, "And their stock price goes up if they are, you know, producing more revenue with fewer people." Kratsios responded, "Precisely. Yeah," and expressed optimism about AI’s long-term impact on jobs. Earlier, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that public skepticism around AI is rising. Apollo Global Management Chief Economist Torsten Sløk said there is "zero evidence" that AI has triggered broad employment losses. Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos rejected predictions of mass AI-driven unemployment. Microsoft Corp. eliminated 4,800 roles while saying the cuts were due to business changes, and Meta Platforms Inc. moved about 7,000 employees into new AI-focused divisions while cutting roughly 8,000 jobs.