Tech layoffs this week: Cloudflare, Coinbase, Upwork, and others point to AI as they slash jobs

"Yesterday, Cloudflare announced that it was laying off more than 1,100 workers across the globe. That equates to roughly about 20% of the company's workforce. The announcement came from the company's cofounders, Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn. The pair published the letter they sent to employees earlier in the day announcing those layoffs. The main driver of the layoffs-as has been with so many tech layoffs lately-is a shift to artificial intelligence in the workplace."

"In the letter sent to employees, Cloudflare notes that its use of AI in the workplace has "increased by more than 600% in the last three months alone," across myriad departments, including engineering, marketing, finance, and HR. Cloudflare says these departments now "run thousands of AI agent sessions each day to get their work done." Shares of Cloudflare Inc (NYSE: NET) were down roughly 15% following the announcement and its first-quarter earnings report."

"On the same day Cloudflare announced its layoffs, the fintech billing SaaS provider for small and medium businesses, Bill Holdings (NYSE: BILL), did the same. Likewise, the company posted a letter from CEO René Lacerte, announcing the job cuts to employees. In the letter, Lacerte announced that Bill "will become an AI native company." Lacerte said that companies operating in an AI-first world will see "the time between ideation and execution is much faster," which necessit"

Major tech companies announced large workforce reductions in April and May. Cloudflare plans to lay off more than 1,100 workers worldwide, about 20% of its workforce, with the layoffs driven by a shift toward artificial intelligence. Cloudflare reports that workplace AI use increased by more than 600% in three months and that departments run thousands of AI agent sessions daily. PayPal and Coinbase are also reported to be cutting thousands of positions. Bill Holdings announced workforce reductions alongside a plan to become an AI native company, linking faster ideation-to-execution cycles to the need for staffing changes.

Read at Fast Company