Member-only story
What Are All the Laid-off Programmers Going to Do?
For starters, they may have to leave high-cost urban centers for cheaper suburban or rural areas.
In April 2025, Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and Tumblr, announced a layoff affecting 16% of its global workforce. Google cut hundreds of jobs in its platforms and devices unit this year. Duolingo has not specifically reported mass layoffs yet but Luis von Ahn, the CEO, recently declared that the company is immediately shifting to an “AI-first” operational model, with significant implications for its workforce, including programmers.
Similarly, Shopify’s CEO, Tobias Lütke, announced a policy requiring employees to demonstrate that tasks cannot be automated with AI before requesting additional headcount. AI proficiency is now a “fundamental expectation” and part of performance reviews in his company.
Klarna, a Swedish fintech giant, reported in early May 2025 that AI tools have reduced its workforce needs by 25% since 2023, with plans to further automate customer service and coding roles. A Forbes article said Klarna’s AI chatbot now handles 80% of customer inquiries, displacing hundreds of jobs.
PayPal too has been reducing its workforce, particularly in support and development roles, with X posts indicating…
