Fiverr is shedding 250 workers to change into an ‘AI-first firm’

Gig financial system platform Fiverr is shedding 250 workers 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 workers, The Register writes, and it isn’t unusual amongst tech corporations in 2025. Duolingo introduced related plans to change into “AI-first” in April.

Kaufman describes this course of as returning to “startup mode” and writes that his final objective is to show Fiverr into “an AI-first firm that is leaner, quicker, with a contemporary AI-focused tech infrastructure, a smaller group, every with considerably larger productiveness, and much fewer administration layers.” A part of the justification Kaufman provides for why Fiverr does not “want as many individuals to function the present enterprise” is that the corporate has already built-in AI into its buyer assist and fraud detection applications.

The primary signal that Fiverr would possibly justify layoffs with AI got here when Kaufman was interviewed by CBS News in Might 2025 in regards to the hazard the know-how posed to workers. Kaufman particularly suggested workers to “automate 100%” of what they do with AI, whereas additionally claiming that would not make them replaceable as a result of they have been nonetheless able to “non-linear considering” and “judgement calls.” That recommendation does not seem to be it was finally useful for Fiverr’s personal workers.

The corporate’s cuts have an effect on fewer folks than a bigger agency like Workday, who introduced plans to eliminate 1,750 roles in February 2025. Whatever the dimension of the corporate or its degree of funding in AI, although, layoffs have the identical impact: Extra work must be performed by fewer folks.