The advice from a senior executive comes after the tech giant confirmed plans to lay off a substantial number of Irish staff from its Dublin base
A senior Microsoft executive says those losing their jobs should use AI to cope better with their emotional loss.
The advice comes after the tech giant informed the government run here that it planned substantial layoffs at the Irish base.
Overall, Microsoft says it will let 9,000 people go globally. The company employs 4,000 people in Dublin and a further 2,000 people at its Linkedin subsidiary here.
Matt Turnbull, a senior figure at Microsoft’s Xbox division which is set to see significant cuts, said that among his advice to people getting cut is “to use LLM Al tools like ChatGPT or Copilot to help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss”.
Writing on Linkedin, Turnbull offered examples of AI prompts he thinks might help soothe things for people facing redundancy.
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One such prompt was: ”I'm struggling with imposter syndrome after being laid off, can you help me reframe this experience in a way that reminds me what I'm good at?"
Another prompt was: "Act as a career coach. I've been laid off from a [role] in the game industry. Help me build a 30-day plan to regroup, research new roles, and start applying without burning out."
He said that the technology could offer resources for newly-unemployed workers.
“At a time when mental energy is scarce, these tools can help get you unstuck faster, calmer, and with more clarity,” he wrote in the online post, which he later deleted after critical responses to the timing of the post.
The company’s intention to cut Irish jobs was confirmed by the government earlier this week.
“The Department received a collective redundancy notification from Microsoft on 2 July,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
“Any further queries should be directed to the company.”
However, a spokesperson for Microsoft declined to give any information on prospective job cuts here.
"We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,” she said, when asked about layoffs in Ireland.
The tech giant has said that the layoffs are part of a restructuring effort.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently disclosed that up to a third of programming at the tech company is now done by AI, with a higher percentage likely.
However, the current cuts are thought to be aimed across several job categories, including sales and middle-management.
