Fiverr lays off 30% of its staff as it pivots to an AI-first future
It could reshape the gig economy by putting algorithms, not people, at the center of online work.
Fiverr is making one of its boldest moves yet, and it comes with a heavy cost. The Tel Aviv-based freelance marketplace says it's cutting 30% of its staff, about 250 people, as it doubles down on becoming what CEO Micha Kaufman calls an “AI-first company.”
While most might look at this move as just belt-tightening, Fiverr points to wanting to flatten management, speed up decision-making, and rebuild the platform around AI tools that can handle the behind-the-scenes work people do today. In a letter to staff, Kaufman pitched the change as a way to create a leaner, faster Fiverr—the same kind of AI pivot we’ve already seen from Salesforce, Google, and others.
'Why now?' You might ask. Well... the numbers offer us a glimpse into why Fiverr is making this gamble. The company’s revenue is still growing—about $391 million in 2024, up from $361 million in 2023, and closer to $419 million when you look at the trailing twelve months (via StockAnalysis). That’s healthy growth in the 8–12% range, but it’s hardly explosive in a market where competition is heating up.
Loy Okezie
Its active buyer base has also stalled at about 4 million, even as repeat customers keep spending more. In other words, the marketplace is still moving more than $1.1 billion in gross merchandise value, but most of that is from existing users, not new ones.
That’s why AI looks like the answer. Most of Fiverr’s processes, from ordering gigs to payments, already run with minimal human input. By leaning harder into automation, the company can cut costs, speed things up, and maybe even roll out smarter tools for freelancers and clients.
For freelancers, the big question is obvious: what does “AI-first” really mean? Will it help you get matched faster and manage projects better, or will it chip away at simpler gigs, leaving less work for humans? Fiverr says the platform won’t be disrupted right away, but cutting a third of the workforce while telling AI to take over more of the load is a clear sign of where things are heading.
Zoom out, and it’s part of a bigger shift. The gig economy is no longer about cheap labor at scale anymore. It’s about automation, efficiency, and squeezing more out of the users already on board. For freelancers and clients alike, Fiverr’s next chapter might feel less like a marketplace and more like a test of how far AI can go in rewriting the rules of online work.
David Adubiina
