Your Shitty Internal Claude App Is NOT Going To Save Your Job

The Numbers

Since 2022, over 685,000 tech jobs have been cut. In 2023, the worst year on record, 263,000 went. So far in 2026, the tech sector is losing over 1,100 jobs every single working day. May was the heaviest month in two years. (Challenger Gray & Christmas)

And almost everywhere, the stated reason is the same: AI.

A Gartner study of 350 firms published in May 2026 found that the companies cutting the most headcount showed no improvement in financial returns. The jobs are gone. The results aren't.

AI isn't the thing being done. It's the story being told.

The average private sector employee now stays 3.5 years. Workers aged 25 to 34, the people running most data and tech teams, average just 2.7 years with the same employer. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2024)

People are leaving faster. But companies stopped investing in people first. Figure it out yourself works great if you have agency. But it also means the idea of building a career inside one company, getting recognised, moving up the chain? That dream is on life support.

So when AI shows up as a threat, there is no trust to absorb the shock. On either side.

People Are Scared

I've been speaking with teams and employees across different organisations recently. You can tell almost immediately who is confident in their role and who isn't. The tell isn't performance. It's decision-making.

Real conversation, anonymised:

You're a Senior Data Analyst. You're providing access to 3 different business teams, Sales, Marketing, Product. Some weeks you have 80 unanswered questions piling up in Slack. You're efficient at writing SQL, you mainly use Claude or Gemini to write it at this point. You send them back the answer. It's been 4 days.

So your solution is to build an internal Claude coded analytics tool.

You start plugging your warehouse into Claude via MCP. For now it's just the data team, and it's exciting. You start getting answers quickly. You think, let's just get every business user a seat. Now you're pitching Claude seats for 76 users. The CFO loves AI and says yes. Nobody gets fired for splurging on Anthropic tokens or something like that.

Cut to a few months down the line.

Data analytics is not like coding. With AI assisted code, you can have 5 answers all be correct. With data there is only one. You've started building a makeshift context layer. Power users have started using their Claude insights to manipulate internal meetings. Now you have meetings to discipline users on how to self-serve.

There is still no way to audit how answers were derived. Compute is spiralling. 5K on tokens just last month. How much was the SaaS again? Like 2 grand all included.

But at least you're independent. Or are you just locked into Anthropic now?

Since when has insecurity been rewarded? Didn't capitalism solve this already. Get lots of smart specialised people working together and you get efficiency. We've moved towards code communism. Everyone generating things cheaply, solving already solved problems in a loop, mimicking functionality.

Okay, But Why?

The root cause is a lack of trust.

Senior management doesn't understand AI. They keep falling for hype cycles. The gap between understanding of the technology and how to implement tangible value is huge.

They make a visualisation on fake data in Claude in 40 seconds and go, see that's not too hard, let's just do that with real data.

Sorry to burst your bubble bukko, but it doesn't work like that.

The data is there. The job is ensuring it is reliable, fixing the systems that make it available then providing it in an actionable way to actually impact decision making. Have we forgotten about storytelling or is that just a buzzword from the past?

But let's go deeper, why?

Employees are rightfully concerned. The real issue is the lack of trust between employees and their employer's judgement. Both sides are to blame. Some great employees are chasing the new shiny things, but mainly this happens because they don't feel connected to their teams, and they simply don't get recognised for the value they bring.

When I look at my parents' generation, you see employees who have dedicated a lifetime to one company, often with incredible success. Loyalty has stopped being a two-way contract.

We've already seen a shift in culture where employees are traded like NBA players. This breeds short term thinking and opportunism.

What Actually Keeps You Safe

Don't fall for the hype. Get the boring stuff right.

To become irreplaceable, you need to be ruthless in executing what is pivotal for the business. First, you need to understand what the business needs and how it works in reality. Then you need to shut out distractions and work towards that goal and deliver.

Integrate well with your teams and be pleasant to work with. Communicate the value you bring effectively. Become indispensable to core business functions.

You are as valuable as it is hard to replace you.

Again: You are as VALUABLE as it is HARD to replace you. Nothing more nothing less.

Imagine you read one psychology book. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, for example, great read. And now you become a guru to everyone you can find. Giving life advice to strangers on life-altering decisions. "Yes, break up with them if they suggest you shouldn't spend £100+ on a paddle racquet when you play 3 times a year."

Compare that to someone that studied psychology and then did a masters in clinical psychology. They have spent 10,000 hours hearing the struggles of many people, guiding them through the hardest times. They've reflected on their learnings and started to spot patterns. They learnt how to listen better and create a safe environment to assist growth.

Now, you hear of someone struggling. They are going through an immensely challenging time and have recognised they need help. Do you start telling them to just live in the present? Or do you refer them to the therapist?

If it's just a friend who had a bad day, sure that advice works well. The key is understanding the context and what is at stake.

Sometimes building internal things is great. When there was no automation and you add it, great, bonus efficiency. But if this is powering lots of business decisions across the org and you are a lean team with lots on your plate, it's probably irresponsible to overestimate your ability to ship something that is good, and stays up to date with future capabilities.

Choose Wisely

Some people think that building SaaS lookalikes with Claude Code with 50% functionality and $10,000 in burnt tokens is the move. I get it. If you own the stack, maybe you won't get replaced. I see the thinking and it makes perfect emotional sense.

But is it rational?

If you own a duck taped Claude code nothingburger, that is not going to save your role. If it is super easy to build, then why would it even have any value in the first place.

Nobody knows how things will end up. Anyone that says things with 100% certainty is bullshitting.

Acting out of fear and insecurity is never the move. Choose a company where they are growing and the sector is booming and ready for the AI era. It doesn't have to be selling software. It can be shipping Ozempic to your nan.

Avoid the Boomer Boss who gets puppy eyes when Dario says his next model will break our universe, or reality, or something. And choose a boss that organises company pints when it's a bad week.

That's it. Good luck folks.