Tech Layoffs in the Age of AI – ESL Lesson Plan

Bring the high-stakes world of big tech and artificial intelligence into your classroom with this engaging 90-minute lesson plan inspired by an authentic source: a CBS News report on Meta’s massive layoffs and the company’s high-risk pivot toward AI.

Students will watch, listen, and discuss as they explore Hugh Langley’s analysis of Mark Zuckerberg’s vision to make Meta “AI native,” the 8,000 employees who lost their jobs, the 7,000 workers redeployed to AI teams, and the uncomfortable reality that some laid-off workers are called back to “baby” the very AI systems replacing them.

Throughout this lesson, students will develop the following skills:

• Listening comprehension through focused viewing of an authentic news segment about Meta’s strategic shift
• Gist and detailed comprehension by distinguishing true and false statements about the company’s layoffs, stock price, and future plans
• Vocabulary acquisition by learning and producing eight key business and tech words: slash, capex, offset, get the boot, baby, redeploy, upend, and crater
• Vocabulary reinforcement through synonym matching and contextual gap-fill exercises with words such as workforce, earnings, infrastructure, hallucinate, striking, stock price, efficiency, vision, and lay off
• Grammar competence by analyzing tense shifts in reported speech and transforming eight direct quotes from the video into accurate reported speech
• Critical thinking and speaking through pair and group discussions about fairness, corporate responsibility, Wall Street ethics, and personal predictions for the future of AI and work
• Business decision-making by role-playing as a leadership team that must decide whether to lay off 2,000 people to fund a $1 billion AI investment

Perfect for Business English courses, general English classes, and lessons on technology, ethics, and current events.