Layoffs Aren’t the Biggest Job Market Problem — Stagnation Is

Layoffs get the headlines, but something quieter seems to be happening across many companies: stagnation.

After layoffs, teams are smaller — but workloads stay the same.
Promotions quietly slow down or disappear, especially for mid-level employees.
Career growth conversations turn into survival conversations.
Job postings remain public while actual hiring freezes internally.
High performers are asked to take on more responsibility without clearer paths forward.

What stands out is that many of these companies are not visibly struggling.
Revenue appears stable. Stock prices recover. Executive compensation continues.
Meanwhile, upward mobility for employees seems to stall.

The result is a strange job market where staying employed no longer means progressing.
Loyalty doesn’t necessarily translate into opportunity.
Career advancement increasingly requires leaving rather than excelling.

This creates a quiet tension:
People feel stuck even when they are technically “safe.”
Not laid off — but not moving forward either.

Not sure how widespread this really is:

• Have promotions slowed or disappeared where you work?

• Did layoffs increase workload without increasing pay?

• How long is too long to wait for a promotion that may never come?

Comments

[Elyvora US]

The "loyalty for growth" deal is dead. Stagnation isn't an accident; it’s a shift in leverage.

From an employer’s POV, the calculus is simple: AI doesn’t need a raise, a break, or a career path. It just needs guidance. In a world where AI can save time and make money, a human employee is no longer a long-term investment, they are a variable cost.

If you still have a job, your employer likely feels they’re already doing you a favor. Why promote you when they can squeeze more out of fewer people while waiting for automation to get even cheaper?

How to respond:

• Stop waiting for a rescue. No company is coming to save your trajectory. If you aren't being paid well or learning a high-value skill, you are losing ground.
• Treat it like a contract, not a family. If a promotion hasn't happened in 18 months, it probably won't. Upward mobility now requires leaving, not excelling.
• Become expensive to replace. Don't just do tasks; own problems, manage the AI, and stay close to the revenue.

Companies are optimizing for a world without expensive overhead. You need to optimize for yourself.

The clock is ticking.

[Salaria Labs]

Interesting perspective. I agree that leverage has shifted and loyalty alone isn’t enough anymore. At the same time, I don’t think it’s purely “AI vs humans” — it’s more about who learns to work with AI and adapts faster. The real risk is stagnation, not technology itself.