A few weeks back, you may remember that Paycom – the venerable online payroll company led by temperamental, passive-aggressive, solo CEO Chad Richison – announced a massive, on-the-record RIF, parting ways with over 500 employees.
Paycom’s excuse – like many a tech company – was that AI has arrived on the scene and it’s coming for our jobs. And instead of pushing for common-sense regulations and oversight to protect those jobs, they’re just going to acquiesce and fire everyone instead.
The local media happily took Paycom’s bait.
Yep, THIS. WILL. KEEP. HAPPENING. And by “this,” I’m referring to A) corporations blaming layoffs on AI and B) Paycom’s ongoing employee purge.
I guess Wendy – a pleasant individual who displays good study habits – forgot that Paycom has been quietly purging its OKC employee base for more than two years now and, in the process, has shifted the company’s culture from that of being a great, cult-like place to work to one that now mirrors the personality of its CEO – a former Beach Boys bouncer who rules through fear, retaliation, and a complete lack of good vibrations!
This time around, we’ve once again had multiple Paycom Moles – many of whom are violating confidentiality agreements – reach out over the past few weeks to dispute Paycom’s excuse that this layoff is AI-driven.
According to the emails, the general vibe is these layoffs are nothing more than business as usual. The only difference is that this time around, instead of firing people individually or in small groups for vague, inconsequential, or unknown reasons, the company did it in bulk, so they had to file some governmental reporting.
Check out these emails. They should be treated as blind items:
Listen, is AI going to come for our existing jobs? Probably. Do companies need to prepare and adapt? Yes. Will SaaS be heavily impacted? You bet. But people really have no clue what the impact will be — good or bad.
AI will do to the computer revolution what computers did to the industrial revolution, and basically usher in a whole new revolution. In the long term, it’s pretty much impossible to predict how that's going to play out, right, ChatGPT?
“While your points carry weight—from a purely analytical standpoint—Paycom’s layoffs make sense: AI is fundamentally reshaping the software industry, and companies that adapt early are statistically more likely to survive.”
That may be true, but – as proven by how long it took me to get ChatGPT to give me that tailored response – AI still has a ways to go before it’s displacing 500 workers from a payroll software company in Oklahoma.
It’s not just me calling out Paycom’s excuse. One media outlet filed a report that disputes Paycom’s account – The Ye Olde Journal Record.
They spoke with a real-life “Oklahoma City AI Guru” – a real thing that exists – to get his thoughts on the layoff.
Oklahoma City AI guru looks past recent job cuts
Oklahoma City technology guru Scott Klososky has seen the headlines: “Artificial Intelligence is Killing Jobs,” and he’s gotten to the point where he just rolls his eyes.
Klososky said he wonders if companies are really just cleaning house and using AI as an excuse to please investors.
“They just say it’s all because of AI, and I think that sounds good if you’re a publicly traded company.”
He counts himself among those who don’t believe AI is going to ravage the U.S. workforce.
“History just hasn’t shown that that’s what has happened,” he said. “Every time a new technology comes along, we have doomsayers who say it’s going to ruin the economy, and that just hasn’t happened yet.”
I’m no technology guru, don’t know who Scott Klososky is, and – frankly – I’m not even a big fan of Schlotzsky’s, but I’ve heard from enough current and former Paycom employees over the past couple of years to know there’s more to these layoffs than just AI.
More than likely, the layoffs are due to:
Merger or Acquisition Prep
Some Ogle Moles from inside Paycom have been adamant that Chad is purging payroll to make the company look more attractive for a potential merger or takeover. I question if Chad’s ego would prevent that from happening, but then again, those Beach Boys casino concerts aren’t going to bounce themselves, so I can see him Surfin’ Safari-ing his way out someday.
Prepping for the AI Bubble Collapse
Smart financial people think we’re in an AI bubble fueled by a “circular economy trap.” If they’re right, the bubble’s going to pop someday, and it’ll likely do to the tech economy what the housing crash did to finance. Paycom could just be getting lean before the fall. Then again, that would require a level of insight I don’t think Chad has, so who knows.
Shitty Product
Chad did admit once that the company’s product sucks. If that’s the case, maybe the layoffs are justified:
Despite those possibilities, the ultimate reason for the layoffs could just be...
“Chad’s Just a Mean Dude.”
As the Mole emails show, rumors are that Chad – a rough tough ex-jock –commenced the layoffs not too long after he learned everyone in a certain department were given big raises without his knowledge.
If that’s true, it feels more like a fireable offense for the CEO than the employees!
Then again, Internet rumors are just that, rumors.
Maybe the layoffs were justified, and Paycom – a company that been doing stealth layoffs for a year – can be trusted to be honest about it. Wouldn't it be nice, huh?
If you’re a current or former Paycom employee and you have any thoughts or guesses, hit us up on the TLO Tip Line.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
