ClickUp, the California-based productivity platform, has announced that it will cut 22% of its workforce as part of a shift towards an AI-first operating model. Chief Executive Officer Zeb Evans shared a brief X post about the layoff, clarifying that the company is not going through any financial trouble or weak business performance. Instead, he said the restructuring plan reflects a broader change in how companies can operate efficiently with smaller teams of skilled employees managing AI systems and agents.

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"This wasn't about cutting costs," Evans said on X.  "Most savings from this change will flow directly back into the people who stay. We'll be introducing million-dollar salary bands."

"If you create outsized impact using AI, you'll be paid outside of traditional bands," he added.

Evan shared a very clear message: ClickUp plans to redirect resources toward top AI-native talent, high-performing engineers, AI system managers, and new AI-focused workflows. He is dividing the future of the workforce into three types: Builders, system managers, and front-liners.

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He calls the restructuring move a “100x organisation,” where AI is helping change the nature of work, apart from increasing productivity. In engineering, he believes the top talent now lies in orchestrating AI agents that handle coding tasks, while humans focus on overseeing tasks done by AI and decision-making.

The workforce reduction trend has started to become common across the tech industry. Companies are reducing many traditional roles, and are aggressively hiring highly skilled AI experts with high salaries and compensation packages.

Evan said, “The people that automate their jobs with AI will always have a job. They become owners of the AI systems - agent managers.”

With job cuts, ClickUp wants to retain its top-performing employees by changing its salary structures. Instead of fixed pay structures based on job titles, the company is offering employees the possibility to earn up to $1 million per year if they “produce 100x impact by creating or managing AI systems.”

He concluded the post saying, “Nearly every company will make changes like these. The ones that do it proactively will define what comes next.”

“The future is not fewer people. It's different work, new roles, and better rewards for those who embrace it,” he added.