Sam Altman warns against mass hiring, says AI means companies should hire slowly

Sam Altman says AI is changing how companies grow, pushing OpenAI and others to slow down hiring and focus on smaller, more efficient teams.

As artificial intelligence starts doing more of the heavy lifting inside workplaces, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes companies need to rethink how quickly they add new employees. Speaking at a live-streamed town hall earlier this week, Altman said AI has already changed how OpenAI plans its workforce, and the same is likely to affect hiring decisions across industries, Business Insider reports.

The discussion, which was primarily aimed at developers, included a question on whether AI has influenced OpenAI’s interview and recruitment process. Altman’s response suggests that the company is not planning to replace humans or shut down hiring altogether. Instead, the focus is on growing at a much more measured pace than before.

According to Altman, AI tools now allow smaller teams to handle work that previously required many more people. Because of this, OpenAI no longer feels the need to expand its headcount rapidly. “We are planning to dramatically slow down how quickly we grow because we think we’ll be able to do so much more with fewer people,” he said during the session.

While the comment shows OpenAI’s internal strategy, Altman also used the moment to share a warning for other companies navigating the AI transition. He argued that aggressive hiring in an uncertain environment can backfire, especially as AI capabilities improve faster than expected.

“What I think we shouldn’t do, and what I hope other companies won’t do either, is hire super aggressively, then realize all of a sudden AI can do a lot of stuff, and you need fewer people,” he said. Such situations, Altman noted, often lead to difficult and uncomfortable conversations later, including layoffs.

Instead of swinging between rapid expansion and sudden cuts, Altman believes companies should take a slower and steadier approach. “So I think the right approach for us will be to hire more slowly but keep hiring,” he added, underlining that human talent is still important, but needs to be added with clearer long-term thinking.