Fiverr is laying off 250 employees to become an 'AI-first company' (www.engadget.com)

Fiverr announced it will cut about 250 roles—roughly 30% of its workforce—as it pivots to become an “AI‑first” company, CEO Micha Kaufman said in an essay on X. Kaufman framed the layoffs as a move back to “startup mode,” aiming for a leaner org with modern AI‑focused infrastructure, fewer management layers, and much higher per‑employee productivity. The company already uses AI in customer support and fraud detection, and the stated plan is to deepen automation across operations as justification for the headcount reduction. The decision is significant because it highlights a growing pattern in 2025: companies explicitly tying workforce reductions to AI adoption (Duolingo made a similar “AI‑first” claim), and reframing efficiency gains from ML/automation as strategic imperatives. Technically, the shift implies expanded deployment of ML systems for routine workflows, monitoring, and security tasks—areas where models and automation can replace repetitive or rule‑based human work. Practically, that raises questions about product impact, reskilling, organizational design, and ethical considerations: who benefits from efficiency gains, how displaced employees are supported, and whether concentrating more work on fewer staff will affect service quality and oversight.