All issues · Issue #1 ·
AI was cited in 120,136 job cuts this year
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Hey there,
It's Mark. AI Update is back.
My last issue went out in February. Since then, I've been rebuilding the business.
And building has never been easier, because of the tools I use every day:
- Claude Cowork for ads and blogs
- ChatGPT for research and images
- Meta Muse for social media engagement and SDR work
- Grok Bot for the entire business build
Here's why I'm excited to be back. In just a couple of days, I built full systems: a team of 11 AI bots run by an AI chief of staff, the new aiupdate.ai site, the newsletter signup funnel and the free AI Stack guide, a podcast production dashboard, and this email setup.
That's what I want to help you guys do. Get hired. Build something. Stay relevant. With AI.
-Mark
Here's how it works now. Every Friday, three things:
- Hiring & layoffs: who's cutting, who's hiring, and how much AI has to do with it.
- Tools: the AI tools worth your time this week.
- Strategies & prompts: something you can use that night.
Let's get to work.
Pillar 1 of 3
Hiring & layoffs
Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracks the reasons U.S. employers give when they announce cuts. Through September, AI was cited in 120,136 announced cuts, about 21% of the total. It's still the top reason so far this year.
The peak was May: 38,579 AI-cited cuts in one month. It's cooled since. September came in at 3,961.
But cooler isn't the same as safe. Look at how companies are cutting now.
Fewer layers
On Oct 6, FICO, the credit-score company, told the SEC it's eliminating about 15% of positions. The plan: fewer layers, a simpler structure, and AI-driven product development.
The same day, HubSpot said it's cutting about 7% of its team, nearly 660 people, and moving to a flatter organization with fewer management layers. Its CEO was clear that this cut isn't driven by AI efficiencies. It's about reorganizing around delivering results for customers with AI.
Hiring: barely moving
The September jobs report showed payrolls up just 29,000, with unemployment at 4.2%. Construction was up 11,000, and nonresidential specialty trade contractors kept trending up (+12,000).
Pillar 2 of 3
Tools
GPT-6 is rolling out to everyone on ChatGPT
OpenAI says GPT-6 started rolling out to paid ChatGPT plans on Oct 7, and to Free and Go from Oct 8. The big new feature is "Intelligent UI": answers can come back as charts, forms, calculators, and other tools you use right in the chat.
Google's Gemini agent gets its own work email
On Oct 8, Google Cloud introduced a Gemini agent for work. It plans tasks, uses tools, and returns finished work inside Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Microsoft 365, and Slack. Companies can set up "coworker agents" with their own email address. It's going to businesses first, consumers later.
Claude Haiku 5.5: fast and cheap
Anthropic released Claude Haiku 5.5 on Oct 7. It's Anthropic's fastest, cheapest small model, built for quick, high-volume work. You can pick it on Claude.ai, including on the free plan.
The Update: Your boss may soon have an AI coworker with its own inbox. Learn to hand one a real task before Monday. Start with the prompts below.
Pillar 3 of 3
Strategies & prompts
Be the result, not the layer
Here's the strategy. Take the three outputs you wrote down in Pillar 1. Let AI handle the busywork around them, so your time goes into the part only you can do.
Two prompts to start. Paste one into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini tonight.
If you work for someone: the layer audit ↓
My job: [JOB TITLE] at a [TYPE OF COMPANY]. List the 10 tasks I most likely spend time on each week. For each one, tell me: (1) is it passing information along, or producing a result? (2) how could AI do it or speed it up? (3) one tool to try. Then name the 3 results I should be known for, and how to show them to my boss.
If you run a business: build a quote calculator ↓
Build me an interactive job quote calculator I can use right here in this chat. I do [YOUR TRADE OR SERVICE]. Inputs: hours of labor, my hourly rate, materials cost, a materials markup %, a trip fee, and an optional discount %. Show the customer total, my profit in dollars, and my profit margin. Under the total, add one plain-English sentence I can say to a customer to explain the price. Ask me any questions you need first.
Check every number before a customer sees it. AI does math fast, not always right. And if your ChatGPT doesn't show the interactive version yet, you'll still get the math as text.
On my YouTube channel
New videos six days a week. A few recent ones:
- FICO Guts 15% of Staff and Adds AI Agents, What's Next? Wed, Oct 7
- Hubspot Fires 7% of Staff as the SAASpocalypse Continues Tue, Oct 6
- The 4th Fastest Growing Job Will Shock You Mon, Oct 5
The AI Update podcast (you might know it as After Hours Entrepreneur): the interviews live on my YouTube channel too. New episodes drop when new interviews are recorded.
Sources
Every fact and number above links to where it came from. Here they all are in one place.
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas: January 2026 job cut report — 7,624 AI-cited cuts (chart)
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas: February 2026 job cut report — 4,680 (chart)
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas: March 2026 job cut report — 15,341 (chart)
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas: April 2026 job cut report — 21,490 (chart)
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas: May 2026 job cut report — 38,579, record month (chart, Pillar 1)
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas: June 2026 job cut report — 14,029 (chart)
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas: July 2026 job cut report — 10,970 (chart)
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas: August 2026 job cut report — 3,462 (chart)
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas: September 2026 job cut report — 3,961 in Sept; 120,136 YTD, about 21%, top reason YTD (chart, Pillar 1)
- Fair Isaac Corp. Form 8-K (SEC): filed Oct 6, 2026 — about 15% of positions; fewer layers; AI-driven product development
- HubSpot: CEO message to employees, Oct 6, 2026 — ~7%, nearly 660 roles; flatter org; not driven by AI efficiencies
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: The Employment Situation, September 2026 (Oct 2, 2026) — +29,000 payrolls; 4.2% unemployment; construction +11,000; specialty trade +12,000
- OpenAI: GPT-6 and Intelligent UI for everyone (Oct 7, 2026) — rollout dates; Intelligent UI
- CNBC: Google Cloud introduces Gemini agent for work (Oct 8, 2026) — Gemini agent features; coworker agents
- TechCrunch: Google brings agentic AI to Gemini, starting with businesses (Oct 8, 2026) — businesses first, consumers later
- Anthropic: Introducing Claude Haiku 5.5 (Oct 7, 2026) — release; fastest, cheapest small model
- Anthropic: Claude Haiku page — selectable on Claude.ai, including Free
- YouTube: Mark Savant channel feed — video titles and dates