AXIOS (Madison Mills) - Corporate America enters its AI reckoning
Corporate leaders are starting to question whether soaring AI spending is delivering meaningful returns. Why it matters: Companies that rushed to embrace AI are now confronting ballooning IT costs, uncertain productivity gains and growing employee skepticism. Driving the news: Microsoft canceled most of its Claude Code licenses, in part over costs, according to The Verge , and Uber's COO said AI costs are getting "harder to justify." - An AI consultant tells Axios one of their clients recently spent half a billion dollars in a single month after failing to put usage limits on Claude licenses for employees. - Companies are citing AI's ability to automate jobs as a cause for layoffs , though Anuj Kapur, CEO of CloudBees, told Axios that…