New manager suggests getting rid of entire department because "AI is going to do it all soon anyway": 'Why would this information be shared if not to make people anxious?'

This employee shared their experience with this online community that discusses workplace issues about how a new manager had reportedly suggested replacing their entire department during a leadership meeting. This had leaked to the rest of the company, leaving workers frustrated and anxious about their jobs.

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When it comes to AI in the workplace, at this point, the only thing it is really capable of reliably doing is one thing. Helping knowledgeable and experienced decision-makers be a little bit more efficient. The key thing is that these employees know the correct decision anyway. So they have the knowledge necessary to know when to accept the result AI puts out and when to throw it out. And that help comes in the most menial, time-consuming parts of their job. These menial parts of their jobs: administration, task-listing, email-sifting, and efficiency optimizing. Isn't really the breadth of their work. It's all the stuff that fills in the gaps.

Well, it might be the gaps for them. But those types of things happen to be the types of tasks that make up the majority of most managers' jobs. So, effectively, if AI were to replace any jobs at this point, it, ironically, would be the upper managers' jobs it would replace. The same upper managers who are continuing to push them.

AI also happens to be really good at making misguided decisions about concepts that it doesn't know as much about as it thinks it does. Something else managers are also really good at. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe that's why they think AI will be so effective at replacing their workers' jobs. It replaces theirs just fine! That actually makes their attitudes make more sense.

All other promises of its prowess have, at this point, fallen short. I have no doubt that someday the conversation will be somewhat different. But today is not that day.

So just what was this new manager even trying to accomplish anyway? And what is any leadership team trying to accomplish by making their desires to replace workers known? The only possibility is that they shouldn't be in leadership positions at all. That, or the goal is as this employee guessed: Use the threat of job replacement as a toxic motivational tool. 

Sure, this might encourage employees to “look” productive. But who is going to want to buy in, put in the extra effort, and go the extra mile for a job that has made it plainly clear to workers where they stand?

New Manager proposed eliminating my department and job because AI is going to do it all soon anyway

Word leaked out that a relatively young, new manager suggested in a meeting with other managers of the same rank that my department should be eliminated because AI will be doing it all eventually anyway. First of all, without going into the specifics this is simply not true. In fact I would argue if anything the new manager’s job is more likely to be eliminated by AI before mine.

Supposedly the other managers shut the conversation down, but people are both nervous and pi***d, especially since my company just filled a couple of open positions in my department. And people are suspicious of the leak itself. Why would this information be shared if not to make people anxious in order to squeeze more work out of us and tamp down any requests for more money, better work-life balance, etc.

Ok, get it out, but afterwards how would you handle this situation professionally. We do have a union, and as much as I like unions, our current leadership has been supine instead of standing up to management.