Companies like Mercor are offering former employees money for insider information There’s a term making the rounds for companies that blame layoffs on AI efficiency gains when the real motive is cost-cutting: AI washing . Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the phenomenon recently , telling CNBC-TV18 at the India AI Impact Summit in February that some companies are “blaming AI for layoffs that they would otherwise do.” When the CEO of the company whose technology is being used as the cover story calls it out, that’s about as close to confirmation as you’re going to get. Now meet the company with a Gen-Z CEO that’s unabashedly capitalizing on these tensions…. Mercor’s Play According to a Wall Street Journal report , AI training startup Mercor has been approaching professionals across industries and asking if they’d be willing to sell prior work materials and processes from their previous jobs.…