Crypto.com is the latest company blaming AI for mass layoffs

Crypto.com announced a 12% workforce reduction on Thursday, with CEO Kris Marszalek citing the company’s shift to enterprise-wide artificial intelligence as the driver of the cuts.

“Companies that do not make this pivot immediately will fail,” Marszalek wrote on X $TWTR 0.00%. “Companies that move immediately and pair the best AI tools with top-performers will achieve a level of scale and precision that was previously impossible.” He described the eliminated positions as roles that “do not adapt in our new world.”

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The company did not disclose the total number of jobs eliminated, though a spokesperson told CNBC that all workers who lost their positions had been informed.

Crypto.com joins a wave of tech companies that have invoked AI as the rationale for cutting headcount.

Last month, Block $SQ NaN% cut its headcount by more than 4,000 people — nearly half its total workforce — with Dorsey telling shareholders that a leaner organization equipped with the company’s own tools would outperform the larger one it replaced. Meta $META -3.99% is weighing a headcount reduction of as much as 20%, a move aimed in part at absorbing the cost of heavy AI infrastructure investment and positioning the company for efficiency gains as AI-assisted work expands. Atlassian $TEAM -4.42% said last week it was letting go of about 1,600 workers — roughly 10% of its total headcount — with CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes saying the freed-up capital would go toward AI development and enterprise growth.

An explanation for the wave of white-collar layoffs sweeping across industries is becoming increasingly clear: AI isn’t replacing white-collar workers. It’s displacing the cash once used to pay them, with companies cutting corporate payrolls to help fund their pushes into data centers and other AI-focused investments.

Marszalek acquired the domain AI.com in February for $70 million — a record disclosed purchase price for a web address, according to the Financial Times — and marked the launch of an AI agent with a Super Bowl television spot.

This is the second big round of layoffs at Crypto.com in three years. Crypto.com let 20% of its staff in 2023, blaming the FTX collapse and the need to get its finances in order. The company is based in Singapore and has offices in the U.S. and beyond.

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