New Delhi: Cloudflare is cutting more than 1,100 jobs globally, becoming the latest major tech company to link a large restructuring to the fast rise of
AI tools inside the workplace. The internet infrastructure and cybersecurity company said the move will reduce its workforce by around 20 percent.
The company said this is not a cost-cutting exercise or a review of employee performance. In an email to staff, Cloudflare said its own AI use has jumped by more than 600 percent in the last three months, with employees across engineering, HR, finance, and marketing running thousands of AI agent sessions every day.
Cloudflare layoffs: AI changes how the company works
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince and COO Michelle Zatlyn told employees, “The way we work at Cloudflare has fundamentally changed.” The note added, “We don’t just build and sell AI tools and platforms. We are our own most demanding customer.”
Cloudflare said the layoffs are part of a redesign of internal processes for the “agentic AI era.” In plain English, the company wants fewer old-style workflows and more teams built around AI agents.
Revenue rises, forecast misses expectations
The job cuts came on the same day Cloudflare reported its first-quarter results. Revenue rose 34 percent year-on-year to US$639.8 million, nearly ₹5,758 crore, beating analyst estimates of US$621.9 million, around ₹5,597 crore. Adjusted profit stood at 25 cents per share, above estimates of 23 cents.
Cloudflare also forecast second-quarter revenue of US$664 million to US$665 million, nearly ₹5,976 crore to ₹5,985 crore, below Wall Street’s expected US$666 million, around ₹5,994 crore. Its stock reportedly fell about 18 percent in after-hours trading.
Tech layoffs and the AI worry
Cloudflare is not alone; Coinbase, Meta, Block, Oracle, and PayPal have also been linked to layoffs this year. From January to April, US tech employers announced 85,411 job cuts, up 33 per cent from the same period last year.
Cloudflare says departing staff will get base pay through the end of 2026 and equity vesting support through August 15. Still, for the wider tech sector, this feels like one more sign that AI is starting to reshape payrolls, not just products.
