Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang criticized CEOs who blamed artificial intelligence for layoffs, calling the narrative "lazy."
"I think the narrative that connects AI to job loss for many of the CEOs that are doing it, it is just too lazy," Huang told Singapore broadcaster Channel NewsAsia in an interview on Monday.
"AI has just arrived. How is it possible they're already losing jobs?" he asked.
Huang said it "doesn't make any sense" for companies to link layoffs to AI before generative AI tools became widely useful in the workplace.
"How is it possible that AI became productive and useful only six months ago, and they were somehow laying people off two years ago because of AI?" Huang told CNA in Taiwan.
Huang said some executives were blaming layoffs on AI "to sound smart."
"I really hate that," he said.
Huang's comments come as companies across industries race to integrate AI tools into their businesses, while workers increasingly worry about automation replacing human jobs.
The anxiety has intensified amid a wave of tech layoffs and corporate restructuring tied to AI. The trend has also fueled debate over whether companies are genuinely replacing workers with AI or simply using the technology to justify broader cost-cutting.
Huang argued that leaders should strike a more balanced tone when discussing the technology's impact.
"I think we're scaring people and that's irresponsible," he said.
Huang said the industry should present a "balanced narrative" about AI that acknowledges both the technology's potential and the importance of advancing it safely, with proper security measures, guardrails, and supportive government and industrial policies.
"On the other hand, tell a story that's optimistic so that people want to be part of it," he added.
Huang also talked about
joining President Donald Trump on his recent trip to Beijing after receiving a last-minute call from the president.
Huang said Trump called him the morning he was leaving and "insisted" that he get on the plane, initially thinking Huang was in Washington, DC. Huang said he was on the West Coast, so Trump told him to meet Air Force One in Alaska.
"He called me in the morning — he didn't realize I wasn't going — and he insisted that I get on the plane and go," Huang said, adding he packed in a hurry.
Huang said he then flew to Alaska, boarded Air Force One, and traveled to China with a group of other US executives representing a broad range of industries.
"We were there to really represent the United States and support the president," Huang said.