Joe was an award-winning marketing copywriter and content administrator. His company began exploring AI as a productivity tool in early 2024, but he was assured his job was secure.
"When they asked me to spend the first six months of 2025 building our extensive 'AI workflow processes' and 'best practices documentation,' I should have seen the writing on the wall. In my naivety, I thought I would manage this system and be asked to oversee these processes."
However, in August 2025, just two weeks after he submitted the best practices documentation, Joe was laid off.
"In my exit interview, I was told it had absolutely nothing to do with my work or performance; they blamed it on 'market conditions,' some of which was undoubtedly true, but the timing was certainly suspicious," Joe from Milwaukee said. "Working for this company and being asked to do this — train your robot replacement — felt like digging my own digital grave."
Joe was told that most of his previous workload had been delegated to junior employees.
"They followed my AI documentation, just inputting prompts into AI clients to produce the work I used to do," he said.
Joe is now considering transitioning to a sales career, but he says it isn't easy.
"I wouldn't say AI 100% forced me out of my career path, but at 50, with AI threats looming, I'm wondering if I can find another writing job, or if I'll face another layoff at 55?"