US cloud-based productivity platform ClickUp, which has joined many other companies in rapidly adopting artificial intelligence in its operations, announced a massive layoff round on Thursday (US time). Affirming that the development “wasn’t about cutting costs,” CEO Zeb Evans disclosed that the company was cutting 22% of its workforce.
According to a 2023 company blog post, ClickUp has over 1,000 employees. This week’s news was inevitably devastating for some, but it also promised a big money-making opportunity for others.
ClickUp CEO announces layoffs
“Most savings from this change will flow directly back into the people who stay. We’ll be introducing million-dollar salary bands,” the ClickUp CEO wrote on X. “If you create outsized impact using AI, you’ll be paid outside of traditional bands.”
Evans also emphasised that the company aims to reach “100x output,” while aiming to rebuild the company with an AI-driven focus. Simultaneously, the top company executive mapped out ClickUp’s future workforce by separating employees into three categories: “builders,” “system managers,” and “front-liners.”
Explaining the way forward, he said that the first two groups of staffers will now redirect their attention to AI systems while automating parts of their own jobs. The last group, however, will align itself with customer relationships, representing “the human touch.”
Today we reduced headcount by 22%. The business is the strongest it's ever been. So I think it's important to be direct about what I'm seeing and why.
— Zeb Evans (@DJ_CURFEW) May 21, 2026
First, I made this decision and I own it. I did it because the way to operate at the highest level of productivity is changing,…
AI transition in focus
ClickUp is believed to have issued a mandate about using AI agent more and fostering a culture of sharing AI workflows, according to growth operations manager Andy Cabasso’s remarks to Business Insider.
The US software company’s layoff wave came to light around the same time as Mark Zuckerberg’s tech giant Meta broke the silence on its sweeping job cuts, impacting 8,000 employees with a single announcement this week.
In his social media update, ClickUp CEO Zeb Evans further asserted, “The people that automate their jobs with AI will always have a job. They become owners of the AI systems – agent managers.”
“The future is not fewer people. It’s different work, new roles, and better rewards for those who embrace it.”
Evans’ remarks somewhat echoed what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees in a Wednesday memo, as he laid off 8,000 employees. Calling it a necessary move, the billionaire executive said, “AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes,” as quoted by CNBC. “The companies that lead the way will define the next generation.”
Other companies that recently replaced their employees with the disruptive AI boom include Microsoft, Cisco, Cloudflare, Coinbase, and LinkedIn. According to the live layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi, 114,120 tech employees have been laid off across 150 tech companies in 2026 so far.
As opposed to companies simply accepting the AI boom and cutting out their human workforce, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a first-of-its-kind executive order in an attempt to protect workers displaced by artificial intelligence after Meta’s shocking blow. His order is expected to help support workers by offering them severance standards, employment insurance, and transition support.
“California has never sat back and watched as the future happened to us – and we won’t start now. We have taken the lead on advancing innovation, safety, and transparency. But we must think bigger,” Newsom said in a statement. “This moment demands that we reimagine the entire system — how we work, how we govern, how we prepare people for the future — and that work is starting right here in the Golden State.”