They were sacked for vibe-working, which is how AI is supposed to be used if you listen to some business hype. Of course it is not how it's supposed to be used according to people who actually know the current situation.
The hype is both:
* AI has made skilled workers obsolete, and
* AI must be handled only with the utmost care by skilled workers or else it will doom humanity.
It reminds me of this Far Side comic.
That's exactly right. By allowing skilled workers to produce 10x or more, it has eliminated the lower end of the job market.
The real problem isn't going to be the job losses themselves, it's where we'll get the next generation of skilled workers. There will always be a vacuum at the top, regardless of how good AI gets.