Fiverr Lays Off 250 Employees in Major Shift to an AI-First Future
Fiverr is taking a sharp turn toward automation. The freelance marketplace has announced the layoff of about 250 employees, roughly 30 percent of its workforce, as part of a restructuring plan to become an “AI-first company.”
The company said the decision will create a leaner, flatter organization designed to move faster and scale with modern infrastructure. CEO Micha Kaufman described the layoffs as a “painful reset,” adding that Fiverr will reinvest savings into AI talent, infrastructure, and growth in the enterprise market.
Fiverr has been experimenting with artificial intelligence for several years. The platform already uses AI for customer support, fraud detection, and its Dynamic Matching system that pairs freelancers with clients. Marketing and campaign optimization also rely on machine learning. The new direction is meant to deepen that reliance and bring automation into more of the company’s operations.
According to Fiverr, the goal is to eliminate manual, repetitive tasks and free humans to focus on strategy and creativity. The company believes AI can unlock capabilities that were previously too expensive or time-consuming to manage at scale.
Still, the cuts raise questions. The jobs being eliminated span multiple departments, but the company has not disclosed specifics. It is also unclear what new AI systems Fiverr plans to build in-house versus adopting from external vendors. Freelancers on the platform are not expected to see immediate disruption, but longer-term effects are harder to predict. If more creative services are automated, demand for certain freelance categories could shrink.
Fiverr insists its financial guidance for 2025 remains unchanged. Severance costs and restructuring expenses will hit in the short term, but management believes the pivot will position the marketplace for stronger growth in the future.
The move reflects a wider trend across the tech industry. Companies are trimming headcount and reorganizing around artificial intelligence, betting that efficiency gains will outweigh the costs of workforce disruption. Whether Fiverr’s gamble strengthens its marketplace or undermines its human-centric value proposition will be closely watched.
