Gig financial system platform Fiverr is shedding 250 staff because it pivots to being an “AI-first firm,” CEO Micha Kaufman shared in an essay on X. The transfer impacts round 30 p.c of the corporate’s employees, The Register writes, and it isn’t unusual amongst tech corporations in 2025. Duolingo introduced related plans to develop into “AI-first” in April.
Kaufman describes this course of as returning to “startup mode” and writes that his final aim is to show Fiverr into “an AI-first firm that is leaner, quicker, with a contemporary AI-focused tech infrastructure, a smaller workforce, every with considerably higher productiveness, and much fewer administration layers.” A part of the justification Kaufman presents for why Fiverr would not “want as many individuals to function the present enterprise” is that the corporate has already built-in AI into its buyer help and fraud detection packages.
The primary signal that Fiverr may justify layoffs with AI got here when Kaufman was interviewed by CBS Information in Might 2025 concerning the hazard the expertise posed to staff. Kaufman particularly suggested staff to “automate one hundred pc” of what they do with AI, whereas additionally claiming that would not make them replaceable as a result of they had been nonetheless able to “non-linear considering” and “judgement calls.” That recommendation would not seem to be it was finally useful for Fiverr’s personal staff.
The corporate’s cuts have an effect on fewer individuals than a bigger agency like Workday, who introduced plans to eradicate 1,750 roles in February 2025. Whatever the dimension of the corporate or its stage of funding in AI, although, layoffs have the identical impact: Extra work needs to be completed by fewer individuals.
