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“Your Company Isn’t a Charity”: UK Business Coach Sparks Debate Over Firing Staff and Using AI

Last Updated on: 28th July 2025, 06:41 pm

While many tech executives promote synergy between cutting-edge tools and team development, one British strategist is turning that message on its head. Charlie Hutton believes the future belongs to companies that stop hiring, eliminate underperformers, and harness AI from the outset.

As the founder of The One Man Empire, Hutton has stirred controversy for mentoring UK-based male entrepreneurs on how to break the £1m revenue barrier. His method? A systems-first philosophy that removes the need for additional staff and builds resilience through automation and efficiency.

Daniel Pell, vice president and country manager of UKI at Workday, recently told the Evening Standard the following:
“The message I give my own team is simple: AI will only take us so far. Our people will take us further.”
It’s a sentiment many business leaders share. However, others, particularly Hutton, are pushing back.
In his hardline rebuttal, Hutton, who is often somewhat referred to as a ‘cult leader’ in his business space, pulled no punches: “My approach is probably the opposite to that in terms of being like, actually, f*ck the people. Where AI is at now and compared to where it’s going to be in six months, I think you could take the people that you’ve got now and you could get five, 10 times the output of those and never have to hire another person again.”
While Pell argues that people will always matter more than machines, Hutton’s experience with service-led small businesses suggests a different story. He says many companies are using staff to cover for broken processes, rather than driving growth.
“For the small business owner right now, that’s got three, five, or 15 members of staff – it’s really about empowering those guys to compete with larger corporations and make them see that actually, the only reason to have people is so that they make you profit,” Hutton said, brutally.
“If they’re not making you profit, they’ve got to go, and we’ve got to replace them with something else. It’s all about being profitable.”
This ideology finds some support in workplace data. A study by VoucherCloud found the average office worker is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes per day – yet UK business owners are grappling with rising tax and wage obligations, particularly following April’s increases to National Living Wage and ongoing employer NIC contributions.
“The latest increase from a tax standpoint is forcing the hand of small businesses in terms of having employees has never been more costly. It’s an opportunity to burn everything to the ground and rebuild something back up the right way that’s more efficient and more profitable.”
For some SMEs, these pressures are already reshaping hiring strategies. According to recent data from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), cost management and labour availability now rank as top concerns for employers in 2025.
While fears over AI replacing human workers also persist, Hutton believes the real fear should be not using AI. He argues that outdated models are crippling small businesses, and now is the moment to pivot.
“In the economic time we’re at right now, we need to be really considerate of the outcomes and the outgoings that we’ve got as business owners.
“Ultimately, it’s becoming harder and harder for businesses to make money. I’m a champion of small businesses. All the taxes that are coming in are making it even more difficult for those people to keep things alive.
“Ironically, AI is starting to replace a lot of the stuff that some of those people would have been doing… So, by increasing the taxes, you’re forcing a business to go, “f*ck it,” like I’m advocating, sack all of your people.
“If we put the right things in place, we can do that with fewer staff. We can be more profitable. We can be leaner. We can be more agile. We can outmarket and outmanoeuvre the biggest corporations.”
This perspective aligns with current business adoption trends. A 2024 Salesforce study revealed that 92% of UK companies are either using or planning to use generative AI. Meanwhile, BT plans to cut 55,000 jobs by 2030, with many roles to be replaced by automation through tools like CRM systems that centralise customer data and streamline sales, marketing, and support functions.
In addition to this, the World Economic Forum recently predicted a global shift of 78 million jobs by 2030, with roles such as data entry clerks, bank tellers, and administrative staff all expected to decline. In contrast, roles involving AI and data are surging.
As AI tools become more sophisticated and cost pressures mount, small business leaders may face a difficult decision: whether to maintain traditional employment models or adopt a tech-first strategy.
Whether this shift proves to be a temporary reaction or a permanent restructuring remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the conversation around AI and employment is no longer hypothetical. It’s happening now, and business owners are already drawing lines.
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