Originally published on LinkedIn on June 23, 2026
I was weeding my cottage garden yesterday. The smell of rot permeated the air. My first thought was my energetic terrier had killed a rabbit and left it to decompose. Looking around, I realized the smell was coming from my blooming voodoo lily, which mimics the smell of roadkill to attract insects that lay eggs on decaying matter.
I jumped to a conclusion before considering all the factors. No dead rabbit. Just a ghastly flower.
The continuing trend of laying off employees under the guises of improved efficiency and adoption of AI feels more knee jerky and poorly deliberated than a wise long-term strategy. Leaders are identifying “people” as the stink, threatening revenues, sustainability, and agility.
UPS is cutting jobs as it reduces the delivery of lower-profit Amazon packages by more than 50% in 2026 and closes 24 facilities. Packages will still be delivered, but increasingly by delivery service partners, flex drivers, and pickups at Amazon lockers and partner locations. The savings come at workers’ expense, as many will earn less and receive no benefits.
Thinning across technology companies sequester high paid workers whose disposable income was once spent within their communities from fast food joints and restaurants to performing arts centers. The ripples become larger with each wave of those escorted from their desks.
Retailers and consumer goods—Disney, Nike, Heineken, Epic Games, Target, Macy’s—are also reallocating budget towards AI, automation, and restructuring at the expense of workers.
This trend, however, isn’t a rebalancing. It’s a heavy weight on one end of the scale, creating new classes of people who may never rise above the poverty threshold, whether a newly graduated high school student or former blue- or white-collar worker.
Ages ago, I volunteered to help move people from one homeless community to another. One man, well-spoken and neatly groomed, placed a suit, in a plastic dry cleaner bag in my car. Intrigued, I asked about his background. He shared that he once worked in high-technology, but lost his job and subsequently his life savings and apartment.
The suit represented hope. The hope of a job interview and opportunity to return to his former way-of-life.
“A successful society is characterized by a rising living standard for its population, increasing investment in factories and basic infrastructure, and the generation of additional surplus, which is invested in generating new discoveries in science and technology.” Robert Trout, broadcast journalist
While the unemployment rate in the U.S. has remained steady at 4.3% for the past few months, it’s a statistic that doesn’t depict the impact of job loss. Poverty rates are more precise. For instance, nearly one out of five people in Mississippi fall below the poverty threshold. In Illinois and Washington, the rate is closer to one out of ten.
These percentages don’t represent the working poor, people living with adult children or parents, and homeless. According to the World Population Review, the poverty rate is higher in the United States than Russia, Japan, Italy, Spain, Canada, Australia… nearly every first world nation.
What is the point of technology, production, commerce, and innovation if their success and sustainability depend on displacing swaths of workers who may never benefit? At least, my stinky voodoo lily will wilt and return the next year, stronger and more determined to multiple.
Note: All incomplete sentences, grammatical mishaps, and bizarre thought patterns were made by a human. The image is Putrid the voodoo lily in my garden.
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