GitLab fires 14% employees, says AI is the priority now

GitLab is the latest tech company to cut jobs as it doubles down on artificial intelligence. The software development platform has announced plans to lay off around 350 employees, roughly 14 per cent of its workforce, alongside its first-quarter earnings. According to the company, the layoffs are part of a major restructuring aimed at preparing GitLab for what it calls the "agentic era" of AI. Read Full Story In addition to reduction of employee count, GitLab is also exiting 22 countries, reducing its global footprint by about 37 per cent as it streamlines operations and shifts resources towards AI-focused initiatives. The layoffs are part of a restructuring plan first outlined in May under CEO Bill Staples' "GitLab Act 2" strategy. The company said it is flattening management structures, reorganising engineering teams, and investing heavily in AI infrastructure, research and development. GitLab will also remove up to three layers of management in some functions as it looks to speed up decision-making and streamline operations. "The agentic era affords GitLab the largest opportunity in our history as a company, and we're making the structural and strategic decisions to meet it," Staples wrote in a letter to employees and investors. The company said most of the savings generated through the restructuring will be reinvested into AI-related initiatives rather than retained as cost savings. GitLab's job cuts reflect a growing belief across the technology industry that AI is fundamentally changing how software is built. Staples said AI agents are creating workloads at a scale traditional developer infrastructure was never designed to handle. During the earnings call, he noted that AI-powered coding systems are generating activity at "machine scale", forcing companies like GitLab to rethink the foundations of their platforms. To address this, GitLab has begun what Staples described as a "generational rebuild" of its infrastructure. The company is redesigning parts of Git itself, developing APIs optimised for AI agents, and building orchestration systems that allow AI and human developers to work together more effectively. GitLab is also investing in governance and security tools aimed at helping enterprises manage large-scale AI-generated software development. A big price tag for layoffs The restructuring will not come cheap. GitLab expects to incur between $30 million and $35 million in pre-tax restructuring charges, largely related to severance payments and employee benefits. However, executives said the company remains committed to investing aggressively in AI infrastructure, internal AI tooling, and product development. The announcement came as GitLab reported strong quarterly results. First-quarter revenue rose 23 per cent year-on-year to $264 million, while the company reported 1,519 customers spending more than $100,000 annually on its platform. Layoffs in 2026 so far Meanwhile, GitLab's decision comes amid a broader wave of AI-driven restructuring across the technology sector. Companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, Cisco, PayPal and Block have all announced layoffs while increasing investments in AI products and infrastructure. According to Layoffs.fyi, more than 116,700 employees across 164 technology companies have lost their jobs so far this year as businesses redirect resources towards artificial intelligence and automation. Ends