Cloudflare lays off 1

Cloudflare lays off 1,100 employees to prepare for ‘agentic AI era’, claims it’s not cost-cutting exercise. Read memo

Cloudflare lays off 1,100 employees to prepare for ‘agentic AI era’, claims it’s not cost-cutting exercise. Read memo

Cloudflare is laying off more than 1,100 employees to prepare for the “agentic AI era”.

Updated on: May 08, 2026 7:01 AM IST By Sanya Jain Share via Copy link Cloudflare is laying off more than 1,100 employees to prepare for the “agentic AI era”. The cybersecurity company told staff about the workforce reduction on Thursday, after posting first-quarter revenue of $639.8 million. Matthew Prince, CEO of CloudFlare, said that the layoffs were not a cost-cutting exercise (AFP) Cloudflare co-founders Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn said in an internal memo, seen by Business Insider, that the company’s use of AI had increased “more than 600%” in the last three months alone. They framed the layoffs as an exercise to prepare for the agentic AI era, and not a cost-cutting measure.

What did the Cloudflare memo say?

“The way we work at Cloudflare has fundamentally changed,” the company executives said in their memo. “We don't just build and sell AI tools and platforms. We are our own most demanding customer”. Noting that departments like engineering, HR, finance, and marketing now run “thousands of AI agent sessions each day,” the company said it had to be “intentional in how we architect our company for the agentic AI era”. Cloudflare insisted that the layoffs, which would reduce headcount by 20%, were not a “cost-cutting exercise” — “they are about Cloudflare defining how a world-class, high-growth company operates and creates value in the agentic AI era,” the Silicon Valley giant said.

Will there be more layoffs at Cloudflare?

Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn claimed that there would be no more layoffs at the company in the foreseeable future. They said that the idea behind the massive workforce reduction was to ensure that there are no “ smaller, repeated cuts or dragging a reorganization out over multiple quarters”.

Read the full memo below:

Team: We are writing to let you know directly that we've made the decision to reduce Cloudflare's workforce by more than 1,100 employees globally. The way we work at Cloudflare has fundamentally changed. We don't just build and sell AI tools and platforms. We are our own most demanding customer. Cloudflare's usage of AI has increased by more than 600% in the last three months alone. Employees across the company from engineering to HR to finance to marketing run thousands of AI agent sessions each day to get their work done. That means we have to be intentional in how we architect our company for the agentic AI era in order to supercharge the value we deliver to our customers and to honor our mission to help build a better Internet for everyone, everywhere. (Also read: Coinbase layoffs: What will be the severance package for Indian employees on US work visas?) Today is a hard day. This decision unfortunately means saying goodbye to teammates who have contributed meaningfully to our mission and to building Cloudflare into one of the world's most successful companies. We want to be clear that this decision is not a reflection of the individual work or talent of those leaving us. Instead, we are reimagining every internal process, team, and role across the company. Today's actions are not a cost-cutting exercise or an assessment of individuals' performance; they are about Cloudflare defining how a world-class, high-growth company operates and creates value in the agentic AI era. This is a moment we need to own as founders and leaders of the company. Matthew has personally sent out every offer letter we've extended. It is a practice he has always looked forward to because it represented our growth and the incredible talent joining our mission. It didn't feel right for this message to come from anyone other than the two of us. Rather than trickling out notices through managers, we will be sending emails to every employee. (Also read: Matthew Prince net worth: All on Cloudflare CEO’s fortune amid global outage) Within the next hour, every member of our global team will receive an email from both of us clarifying how this change affects them. For those departing today, we will send this update to both their personal and Cloudflare addresses to ensure they receive the information immediately. It's important to us that we treat departing team members right and in a way that exceeds what we've seen from other companies. We believe acting with empathy isn't about avoiding hard decisions but rather about how you treat people when those decisions are made. If we are asking our team to be world-class, we have a reciprocal obligation to be world-class in how we treat them. We are pairing the directness of these measures with severance packages that lead the industry. The packages for departing employees will include the equivalent of their full base pay through the end of 2026. Healthcare coverage is different across the globe, and if you're in the United States, we'll continue to provide support through the end of the year. We are also vesting equity for departing team members through August 15th, so they receive stock beyond their departure date. And, if departing team members haven't hit their one-year cliffs, we are going to waive those and vest their pro-rated equity through August as well. We've asked the team to do this only once, as hard as that may be today. We don't want to do it again for the foreseeable future. By taking decisive action now, we provide immediate clarity to those departing and protect the stability of the team that remains. We are making these changes now because making smaller, repeated cuts or dragging a reorganization out over multiple quarters creates prolonged emotional uncertainty for employees and stalls our ability to build. It's the right thing to do; it's the honest thing to do; and it reflects the values of the company we are continuing to build. Cloudflare started as a digitally native company built in the cloud. That allowed us to catch up to and pass companies that had a head start of years or decades but were slowed down by outdated systems and processes. As we've now become the leader, we cannot rest on the workflows and organizational structures that worked yesterday. We're confident that our reshaped organization will be even faster and more innovative as we continue building the future. To those departing us: you've helped build the strong foundation Cloudflare stands on today. We have the utmost respect for your work and gratitude for the impact you have made. We're confident you will land at other great places and build many future great companies, bringing with you a unique set of skills learned while building Cloudflare. Transparency is a core principle at Cloudflare, and it was important that you hear this from us first. We will be heading to our earnings conference call at 2 PM PT, when we'll share more. We also plan to address today's announcements live with the team at our all-hands meeting. It's not an easy day, but it's the right decision. Our mission to help build a better Internet is more important now than ever, and there's a lot of work left to be done. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sanya Jain Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More Layoffs Get Latest Updates on Trending News Viral News, Video, Photos and Weather Updates of India and around the world News/Trending/Cloudflare Lays Off 1,100 Employees To Prepare For ‘agentic AI Era’, Claims It’s Not Cost-cutting Exercise. Read Memo See Less

Cloudflare is laying off more than 1,100 employees to prepare for the “agentic AI era”. The cybersecurity company told staff about the workforce reduction on Thursday, after posting first-quarter revenue of $639.8 million.

Cloudflare co-founders Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn said in an internal memo, seen by Business Insider, that the company’s use of AI had increased “more than 600%” in the last three months alone. They framed the layoffs as an exercise to prepare for the agentic AI era, and not a cost-cutting measure.

Noting that departments like engineering, HR, finance, and marketing now run “thousands of AI agent sessions each day,” the company said it had to be “intentional in how we architect our company for the agentic AI era”.

Cloudflare insisted that the layoffs, which would reduce headcount by 20%, were not a “cost-cutting exercise” — “they are about Cloudflare defining how a world-class, high-growth company operates and creates value in the agentic AI era,” the Silicon Valley giant said.

We are writing to let you know directly that we've made the decision to reduce Cloudflare's workforce by more than 1,100 employees globally.

The way we work at Cloudflare has fundamentally changed. We don't just build and sell AI tools and platforms. We are our own most demanding customer. Cloudflare's usage of AI has increased by more than 600% in the last three months alone. Employees across the company from engineering to HR to finance to marketing run thousands of AI agent sessions each day to get their work done. That means we have to be intentional in how we architect our company for the agentic AI era in order to supercharge the value we deliver to our customers and to honor our mission to help build a better Internet for everyone, everywhere.

(Also read: Coinbase layoffs: What will be the severance package for Indian employees on US work visas?)

Today is a hard day. This decision unfortunately means saying goodbye to teammates who have contributed meaningfully to our mission and to building Cloudflare into one of the world's most successful companies. We want to be clear that this decision is not a reflection of the individual work or talent of those leaving us. Instead, we are reimagining every internal process, team, and role across the company. Today's actions are not a cost-cutting exercise or an assessment of individuals' performance; they are about Cloudflare defining how a world-class, high-growth company operates and creates value in the agentic AI era.

This is a moment we need to own as founders and leaders of the company. Matthew has personally sent out every offer letter we've extended. It is a practice he has always looked forward to because it represented our growth and the incredible talent joining our mission. It didn't feel right for this message to come from anyone other than the two of us. Rather than trickling out notices through managers, we will be sending emails to every employee.

(Also read: Matthew Prince net worth: All on Cloudflare CEO’s fortune amid global outage)

Within the next hour, every member of our global team will receive an email from both of us clarifying how this change affects them. For those departing today, we will send this update to both their personal and Cloudflare addresses to ensure they receive the information immediately.

It's important to us that we treat departing team members right and in a way that exceeds what we've seen from other companies. We believe acting with empathy isn't about avoiding hard decisions but rather about how you treat people when those decisions are made. If we are asking our team to be world-class, we have a reciprocal obligation to be world-class in how we treat them. We are pairing the directness of these measures with severance packages that lead the industry.

The packages for departing employees will include the equivalent of their full base pay through the end of 2026. Healthcare coverage is different across the globe, and if you're in the United States, we'll continue to provide support through the end of the year. We are also vesting equity for departing team members through August 15th, so they receive stock beyond their departure date. And, if departing team members haven't hit their one-year cliffs, we are going to waive those and vest their pro-rated equity through August as well.

We've asked the team to do this only once, as hard as that may be today. We don't want to do it again for the foreseeable future. By taking decisive action now, we provide immediate clarity to those departing and protect the stability of the team that remains. We are making these changes now because making smaller, repeated cuts or dragging a reorganization out over multiple quarters creates prolonged emotional uncertainty for employees and stalls our ability to build. It's the right thing to do; it's the honest thing to do; and it reflects the values of the company we are continuing to build.

Cloudflare started as a digitally native company built in the cloud. That allowed us to catch up to and pass companies that had a head start of years or decades but were slowed down by outdated systems and processes. As we've now become the leader, we cannot rest on the workflows and organizational structures that worked yesterday. We're confident that our reshaped organization will be even faster and more innovative as we continue building the future.

To those departing us: you've helped build the strong foundation Cloudflare stands on today. We have the utmost respect for your work and gratitude for the impact you have made. We're confident you will land at other great places and build many future great companies, bringing with you a unique set of skills learned while building Cloudflare.

Transparency is a core principle at Cloudflare, and it was important that you hear this from us first. We will be heading to our earnings conference call at 2 PM PT, when we'll share more. We also plan to address today's announcements live with the team at our all-hands meeting.

It's not an easy day, but it's the right decision. Our mission to help build a better Internet is more important now than ever, and there's a lot of work left to be done.

Source: HindustanTimes
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