Layoff notifications have long included wording about tough decisions in challenging times. Now, they’re also nodding at how artificial intelligence is reshaping workforces and companies’ priorities.
When Meta began laying off roughly 8,000 employees worldwide this past week amid massive investments in AI, CEO Mark Zuckerberg dubbed it “the most consequential technology of our lifetimes.”
Zuckerberg’s memo, which was shared online by New York Times reporter Mike Isaac, emphasized that the “companies that lead the way will define the next generation.”
He’s not the only one pushing such messaging. Chuck Robbins, the CEO of Cisco, said in a memo to staff this month that the companies that “will win in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest,” according to Business Insider. Being one of those winners meant hard choices, he said. The company planned to cut about 4,000 roles.
Executives at Cloudflare, meanwhile, said in a message to staff on May 7 that “the way we work at Cloudflare has fundamentally changed.” The company similarly announced layoffs affecting some 1,100 workers.
“Today’s actions are not a cost-cutting exercise or an assessment of individuals’ performance; they are about Cloudflare defining how a world-class, high-growth company operates and creates value in the agentic AI era,” the memo said.
Crypto exchange Coinbase, which announced plans to cut 700 staffers this month, also pointed to AI. CEO Brian Armstrong said in a memo to employees that the company needed to respond to market conditions and AI’s role in the workplace.
“AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era,” Armstrong said. “This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs.”
So far this year, job cut announcements have been especially pronounced in the tech space, while overall layoff rates remain relatively low. The global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks layoff plans, said this month that as of April, the tech industry has been responsible for more than 85,000 of this year’s 300,000-plus job cut announcements.
“Regardless of whether individual jobs are being replaced by AI, the money for those roles is,” Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.
Emma Ockerman is a reporter covering the economy and labor for Yahoo Finance. You can reach her at emma.ockerman@yahooinc.com.