They were sacked for using AI wrong, not for using AI. Tool use was a human skill long before AI.
* AI has made skilled workers obsolete, and
* AI must be handled only with the utmost care by skilled workers or else it will doom humanity.
It reminds me of this Far Side comic.
The real problem isn't going to be the job losses themselves, it's where we'll get the next generation of skilled workers. There will always be a vacuum at the top, regardless of how good AI gets.