Epic's layoff announcement did something unusual: it came pre-packaged with its own rebuttal. Before any reporter filed a story framing the cuts as AI-related, a post appeared on Bluesky insisting the layoffs had nothing to do with AI . The preemptive structure of that defense is its own argument. Organizations that genuinely believe their workforce decisions are unconnected to AI do not lead with that disclaimer — they answer it when asked. Epic answered a question no one had yet formally posed, which tells you what question the company most…