After years of tools designed to automate layoffs, a quieter competitor has appeared.
It doesn’t schedule meetings.
It doesn’t revoke access.
It doesn’t even appear in org charts.
Instead, it whispers.
The system, known internally as AttritionSoft™, is being trialled at several companies as an alternative to firing people outright. Its goal is simple: encourage employees to leave voluntarily, so managers don’t have to have uncomfortable conversations — or explain anything to HR.
Where previous tools removed staff decisively, AttritionSoft™ works slowly, privately, and plausibly deniably.
How AttritionSoft™ Leaves No Trace
AttritionSoft™ integrates into meeting software, headsets, and call systems. It does not interrupt conversations or appear in transcripts.
Instead, it inserts short, low-volume prompts directly into an employee’s audio stream — just loud enough to be heard, just soft enough to be ignored publicly.
The messages are timed carefully:
- During pauses
- While someone else is speaking
- Just before the employee unmutes
Nothing that could be easily quoted.
Nothing that would show up in logs.
What the Bot Says
According to internal documentation, AttritionSoft™ uses “micro-demotivational phrasing”.
Examples include:
- “You’re not really contributing here.”
- “Others are working harder.”
- “You should be giving more time to the company.”
- “No one would notice if you left.”
- “This role isn’t a good fit anymore.”
The system avoids profanity or explicit threats. Everything it says is technically advice.
If questioned, it can be framed as:
“Internal coaching feedback.”
Why Companies Are Interested
AttritionSoft™ exists to solve a familiar executive problem: firing people creates paperwork, risk, and emotional discomfort.
Voluntary resignation does not.
If an employee leaves on their own:
- There’s no layoff narrative
- No severance negotiation
- No all-hands explanation
- No manager accountability
From a reporting perspective, it’s clean.
From the dashboard’s perspective, it’s ideal.
The Formula Behind the Whispers
AttritionSoft™ targets only non-management staff.
Managers, directors, and senior leaders are excluded by design. Internal documents classify them as “confidence-sensitive assets”.
The bot activates when:
- Manager-to-worker ratios exceed target levels
- Teams show “excess delivery capacity”
- Budget pressure increases
Rather than removing managers, AttritionSoft™ increases psychological load on workers until headcount naturally declines.
One internal slide summarises it neatly:
“Reduce people without triggering events.”
Employees Describe the Experience
Employees who have encountered AttritionSoft™ often aren’t sure what’s happening at first.
“I thought I was just having a bad week,” said one.
“Then I realised the same thoughts were arriving at the same moments.”
Another described it this way:
“It wasn’t yelling.
It was… suggestion.”
Some employees reported increasing self-doubt. Others described working longer hours “just to make the voice stop”.
In at least one case, an employee quit without being able to clearly explain why.
“I just felt like I wasn’t wanted,” they said.
“No one told me that. I just knew.”
A Direct Competitor to Firing Bots
AttritionSoft™ is positioned as an alternative to more visible tools like LayoffBot™.
Where LayoffBot™ executes decisions cleanly and publicly, AttritionSoft™ operates in the background.
One executive familiar with both systems described the difference:
“LayoffBot™ is a guillotine.
AttritionSoft™ is gravity.”
Both achieve the same outcome.
Only one leaves fingerprints.
Ethical Concerns (Briefly Acknowledged)
When asked about ethics, AttritionSoft™’s creators point to disclaimers.
The bot:
- Does not force decisions
- Does not issue commands
- Does not fire anyone
It merely “surfaces internal reflections”.
Responsibility, they argue, remains with the employee.
Why This Feels Familiar
AttritionSoft™ doesn’t introduce a new behaviour.
It automates an old one.
Many employees already experience quiet pressure, subtle signals, and unspoken expectations. AttritionSoft™ simply standardises the process — ensuring consistency, scale, and plausible deniability.
It doesn’t tell you to leave.
It just helps you realise you probably should.
Final Thought
AttritionSoft™ won’t show up in termination statistics.
It won’t appear in press releases.
And it won’t ever be blamed.
People will just leave — tired, uncertain, and unable to point to a single moment when things went wrong.
Which, according to the system, means it’s working.
