Anupam Mittal Slams 'Fortune Cookie Wisdom' Advising Laid-Off Tech Workers to Start AI Companies; Recalls Losing His Job in 2001 Dot-Com Crash
Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal has dismissed online advice urging laid-off workers to start AI companies, calling it unrealistic. Recalling his own 2001 layoff, Mittal noted that modern tech cuts occur despite high corporate profits. He urged professionals to focus on revenue-generating roles rather than rushing into brutal startup environments.
Indian entrepreneur and Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal has openly criticised current social media advice encouraging laid-off tech workers to immediately launch their own artificial intelligence startups. Amid a severe wave of global technology redundancies, Mittal shared his personal experience of losing his job during the 2001 dot-com crash in Washington D.C. He warned that framing entrepreneurship as a simple cure-all is highly unrealistic, describing founder life as a brutal path with a dismal survival rate.
Anupam Mittal Layoff History and 2001 Comparison
Recalling his own redundancy, Mittal described the immediate aftermath of losing his job as feeling like a free fall. However, he drew a sharp contrast between the economic motivations of the dot-com bubble collapse and the current corporate climate. In 2001, positions were primarily eliminated to prevent corporate bankruptcy, whereas major tech firms implementing job cuts today remain highly profitable with rising stock values. Meta Layoffs 2026: Employees Packed Free Snacks, Drinks and Chargers Ahead of 8,000 Job Cuts, Ex-Worker Recalls ‘Doomsday’ Mood.
Commenting on recent high-profile reductions, such as those at Oracle, Mittal noted that workers are not being let go because companies are financially sinking. Instead, he argued that businesses are reducing headcounts because corporate infrastructure is learning to automate its own operations through advanced machine learning and software efficiencies.
Tech Sector Job Cuts and AI Automation Trends
The remarks arrive during an incredibly challenging period for global tech professionals. More than 92,000 technology workers have lost their jobs globally in the first five months of this year alone. April emerged as the worst single month for industry redundancies in two years, with over 45,000 roles eliminated across prominent firms including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Snap.
Many of these organizations have explicitly cited structural shifts toward artificial intelligence and a correction of post-pandemic over-hiring as the primary drivers behind their ongoing reorganisations. The rapid pace of these cuts has flooded the job market, prompting online commentators to push freelance work and independent AI development as immediate alternatives.
Corporate Profit and Loss Assessment Advice
Mittal dismissed the viral trend of advising thousands of redundant corporate workers to simply build new platforms using automated tools, labeling such guidance as fortune cookie wisdom. He emphasized that the vast majority of professionals are not suited for the intense pressures of starting a business and should instead focus on evaluating their direct value within existing corporate frameworks. LinkedIn Layoffs: Microsoft-Owned Professional Network To Trim Workforce by 5% Amid Massive AI Infrastructure Shift; Know Who Will Be Affected by Job Cuts.
He advised professionals to carefully assess how they appear on an employer's financial balance sheet. According to Mittal, employees whose roles are categorized purely as operational costs remain vulnerable to automation. Conversely, those directly tied to revenue generation or profit margins can successfully use artificial intelligence as personal leverage rather than facing it as a workforce replacement.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 17, 2026 03:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).