An enterprise consultant just told Fortune 500 CEOs the truth they won't say publicly

An enterprise consultant who works with Fortune 500 CFOs, CIOs, and CEOs every week just went on record about what's actually happening behind closed doors with AI layoffs.

The headline: Most companies are using AI to justify restructurings they were already planning.

Max Votek, cofounder of Customertimes, says the public narrative doesn't match reality. He rarely hears executives say they're replacing people with AI. Instead, companies identify inefficiencies, restructure, and wrap the decision in AI language.

Here's what nobody's talking about:

The savings aren't going to executives. They're being swallowed by token costs, infrastructure, and building secure internal systems.

CFOs are telling Votek they underestimated token costs. Many have burned through AI budgets in months. Some call it "token maxxing" - exhausting spending before achieving projected productivity gains.

Meanwhile, 86% of adults believe companies saving money through AI should lower prices for consumers. That expectation isn't being met.

Companies are also building expensive internal AI infrastructure to keep proprietary knowledge out of public models. Those investments aren't cheap.

The implication is clear: AI is masking pre-planned restructurings, not driving them. And the real cost of AI isn't layoffs - it's infrastructure and token bills that nobody wants to disclose.

Audit your own AI narrative. If your board is using AI to justify headcount cuts, ask where the savings are actually going. If the answer is "token costs and infrastructure," say that publicly. The silence is creating a trust crisis that will cost you more than any restructuring.