A POPULAR company has fired its employees on mass so it can become an “AI-first company”, despite prior warnings of an AI takeover from the CEO.
Fiverr, the online marketplace, fired 250 of its employee, in a company notice on September 15, and dubbed the move as a “painful reset”.
Fiverr has announced that it has laid off 250 of its employees[/caption]
The job cut accounts for 30% of its workforce.
Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman said that the company made the decision to become more productive.
He said that downsizing the platform will make it “leaner, faster, with a modern AI-focused tech infrastructure, a smaller team, each with substantially greater productivity, and far fewer management layers.”
This decision comes on the heels of Kaufman’s own warning to his employees in May that AI is taking over the workplace.
In a company-wide email sent by Kaufman, he declared: “AI is coming for your jobs. Heck, it’s coming for my job too. This is a wake-up call.”
In 2024, Fiverr was met with criticism after it implemented a policy that shrugged off if a piece of work was being done by a human or by AI.
With the savings made on the employees, Fiverr is expected to reinvest directly back into the business, per The Wall Street Journal.
But the company has clarified that this move will not impact freelancers who use the platform.
These are the same freelancers that have also questioned Fiverr’s growing reliance on AI.
One freelancer asked on Fiverr’s community pages last year: “Is AI destroying the REAL creators?”
AI-LED INDUSTRIES
As AI becomes more widely embraced across different industries, fast food restaurant chains are quickly emerging as a front runner.
Chains like Wendy’s have revealed how they planned to cut wait times with AI assistance.
But this growing reliance on AI has led to some comical blunders, like at White Castle recently.
Corporate America’s Biggest Frustrations
In a survey of 1,000 American HR professionals, 15 major frustrations were unearthed:
- Dissatisfaction with salary – 29%
- Lack of appreciation – 26%
- Poor work-life balance – 25%
- Lack of career advancement opportunities – 24%
- Dissatisfaction with benefits – 23%
- Lack of support from leaders – 19%
- Low morale – 17%
- Dissatisfaction with paid time off – 17%
- Lack of support from managers – 16%
- Unrealistic expectations from clients/customers – 16%
- Staying profitable in a competitive industry – 16%
- Lack of transparency from leadership – 15%
- Lack of connection within the workplace – 15%
- Failing to evolve as workplaces in adopt new ideas and systems – 14%
- Poor values/culture – 10%
Source: Talker Research
Social media video showed an AI drive-thru machine that charged a customer $15,400 for an order worth $16.
The drive-thru accidentally added an extra nine number 12 combos, and 100 number seven combos to the customer’s order.
These 109 added meals all came with chicken ring sliders and small fries.
TikTok users reacted in shock after the clip went viral.
One person wrote: “Can’t stand that they are implementing AI into everything, s***s so annoying, it’s like having to press one for English but at a drive through.
“God forbid someone has to do a little work.”
And another called for diners to boycott chains that use AI.
This decision comes on the heels of Kaufman’s own warning to his employees in May that AI was taking over the workplace[/caption]
