Editorial illustration for Monday.com joins 20 tech firms citing AI in workforce reductions
Monday.com Cuts 600 Jobs, Cites AI Strategy
Monday.com joins 20 tech firms citing AI in workforce reductions
Monday.com told the SEC on Wednesday that it's cutting about 20% of its staff, just over 600 people, folding the move into what it calls a "restructuring plan" built around a "leaner, more focused operating model" and an "AI-driven growth strategy." The Tel Aviv company, best known for its colorful project-tracking boards, expects to book $45 million to $55 million in net restructuring charges while still projecting revenue growth of up to 20% for 2026.
Co-founder Eran Zinman tried to get ahead of the obvious read. In a LinkedIn memo to staff, he insisted the layoffs were "not made to reduce costs or replace people with AI," framing them instead as catching up to an AI-first company vision Monday.com laid out about a year ago.
Whether that framing holds up is another matter. Monday.com is now one of dozens of tech firms pointing to AI, directly or indirectly, when explaining why headcount is shrinking. Financial Times data puts total U.S. tech job losses this year near 140,000, with Amazon, Oracle, Meta and Microsoft responsible for roughly 50,000 of them even as those same companies pour billions into AI infrastructure.
Monday.com, the Tel Aviv-based work management software company known for its colorful, customizable project-tracking boards, this week became the latest tech company to cite AI as a factor in job cuts.
Why this matters
Monday.com's 600 job cuts land in a pattern we've now tracked across 20 companies, and the pattern is getting harder to read at face value. Google's own numbers illustrate the problem: no single announced total, just a rolling mix of performance reviews, buyouts, and reorgs that outside estimates peg at 1,500 to 3,000+ engineers for 2026. That's not a company telling you AI replaced workers.
That's a company that won't tell you anything specific, which leaves "AI" to fill the gap in press coverage and investor calls alike. For founders, this should be a warning about how easily "AI transformation" becomes cover language for standard cost-cutting, restructuring, or margin repair. For developers and researchers, it's worth asking whether the tools actually drove the productivity gains these filings imply, or whether "leaner, more focused operating" is just boilerplate attached to a headcount reduction that was coming regardless.
We'll keep watching whether any of these companies eventually publish real before-and-after productivity data instead of SEC language and quarterly-call soundbites.
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Common Questions Answered
How many employees is Monday.com laying off and what are the restructuring charges?
Monday.com is cutting approximately 20% of its staff, which amounts to just over 600 employees. The company expects to book between $45 million to $55 million in net restructuring charges as part of its broader restructuring plan.
What is Monday.com's AI-driven growth strategy and how does it relate to the layoffs?
Monday.com has folded its 600 job cuts into what it calls a restructuring plan built around a 'leaner, more focused operating model' and an 'AI-driven growth strategy.' The company is using AI as a justification for the workforce reduction while still projecting revenue growth of up to 20% for 2026.
How many other tech companies have cited AI as a factor in job cuts?
According to the article, Monday.com has become the latest in a pattern of at least 20 tech companies that have cited AI as a factor in their workforce reductions. This trend suggests that AI-related layoffs have become increasingly common across the technology industry.
Why is it difficult to verify if AI is actually replacing workers in tech layoffs?
Many companies, like Google, have not provided specific announced totals for AI-related job cuts, instead using rolling performance reviews, buyouts, and reorganizations that make it hard to track. This lack of transparency allows companies to cite 'AI' as a reason for layoffs without providing concrete evidence of automation replacing actual workers.
Further Reading
- Monday.com Cuts 630 Jobs in Restructuring Built Around AI Agents, Not Cost Savings - TechTimes
- Monday.com layoffs: Hundreds of jobs slashed as work management firm enters new AI era - Fast Company
- Monday.com cuts 20% of its workforce to restructure for the AI era - CIO
- Monday.com cutting hundreds of jobs as it embraces AI - The Times of Israel
- Monday.com to Cut 20% of Workforce in AI Platform Pivot - Omega Technology Solutions Group
