---
id: "quote-ai-layoff-anxiety"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶2"]
tags: ["ai-impact", "layoffs"]
related: ["concept-ai-layoff-anxiety"]
speaker: "Joy Batra and Dorie Clark"
speakers: ["Joy Batra", "Dorie Clark"]
quote: "Even the most experienced senior leaders may be concerned about their future job prospects amid the relentless onslaught of AI-related layoff news. Much has been written about AI’s impact on early-career jobs and the disappearing middle manager, but leaders are also feeling less agency and more layoff anxiety."
sources: ["ecosystem"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-ecosystem"
originDay: 11
articleStem: "hbr-foci-63-fractional-work-questions"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/04/5-questions-leaders-should-ask-before-turning-to-fractional-work"
sourceTitle: "5 Questions Leaders Should Ask Before Turning to Fractional Work"
---
# AI Layoff Anxiety Among Senior Leaders

> "Even the most experienced senior leaders may be concerned about their future job prospects amid the relentless onslaught of AI-related layoff news. Much has been written about AI's impact on early-career jobs and the disappearing middle manager, but leaders are also feeling less agency and more layoff anxiety."
> — [[entity-joy-batra|Joy Batra]] and [[entity-dorie-clark|Dorie Clark]]

**Why it matters.** This is the setup that expands the AI-displacement narrative *upward* — from early-career and middle-management roles to the senior tier. It is the textual basis for [[concept-ai-layoff-anxiety]] and the emotional "push" behind [[claim-single-income-risk]].