AI replacing workers: from buzzword to operating model
AI replacing workers refers to companies using autonomous software agents and generative tools to automate tasks that were once performed by humans, restructuring teams so that fewer employees manage, supervise, and integrate machine output across the organisation’s workflows. In this emerging model, AI productivity gains become the central justification for tech company layoffs, with leaders arguing that automation can support a leaner but more “impactful” workforce. ClickUp and Wix now sit at the centre of this shift. Both firms are investing heavily in workforce automation at the same time as they cut hundreds of roles, presenting AI as a strategic necessity rather than a cost-cutting trick. Their moves show how quickly AI-first operating models have moved from experiments to excuses for restructuring, raising sharper questions about the human cost of automation and whether these bets will deliver more than short-term relief for investors.
ClickUp’s 3,000 AI agents and the ‘100x org’ dream
ClickUp’s restructuring is one of the clearest examples of AI replacing workers inside a fast-growing software company. CEO Zeb Evans cut 22% of staff while introducing roughly 3,000 internal AI agents to handle complex tasks, turning remaining employees into directors and reviewers of machine output rather than hands-on contributors. Evans describes this as building a “100x organization”, where AI productivity gains supposedly make a smaller team vastly more effective. He has promised that “most savings from this change will flow directly back into the people who stay” through million-dollar salary bands for those who achieve outsized impact with AI. Roles are being redefined into builders, system managers, and front-liners, with “great engineers” expected to orchestrate and judge agent work instead of writing code themselves. The result is a sharpened divide between high-paid AI managers and the many workers whose tasks are now automated or eliminated.
Wix’s AI investment, stock slide, and 1,000 planned layoffs
While ClickUp frames its layoffs as a productivity transformation, Wix shows what can happen when AI bets weigh on profitability. Reports say the website builder plans about 1,000 layoffs, nearly 20% of its staff, even though revenue grew 14% to USD 541 million (approx. RM2,486 million) in the latest quarter. A key strain is its AI platform Base44, acquired for USD 80 million (approx. RM368 million), which reached USD 150 million (approx. RM690 million) in annual recurring revenue but triggered additional payments of USD 38 million (approx. RM175 million) to its founder in one quarter alone. Operating expenses jumped 50% to USD 423 million (approx. RM1,947 million), and cash flow fell 21% to USD 112 million (approx. RM516 million). A USD 1.6 billion (approx. RM7,360 million) share buyback failed to stop the stock from dropping nearly 50%. For Wix, workforce automation and AI investments are now bound up with urgent efforts to restore margins and investor confidence.
Seven-figure salaries and the rise of a two-tier workforce
The most provocative element of ClickUp’s AI-first shift is not only AI replacing workers, but how those who remain are paid. Evans has promised seven‑figure, million‑dollar salary bands for a select group of employees who can deliver extraordinary AI productivity gains, effectively creating a small, highly rewarded elite of “10x people” who orchestrate agents and systems. This points to a two‑tier workforce: a narrow layer of builders and system managers who design and oversee automation, and a larger pool of front‑line staff whose roles must justify their existence alongside cheaper AI agents. Similar dynamics appear across the industry, where AI productivity gains are framed as reason to funnel more money to top performers while shedding mid‑level roles. The message to workers is blunt: those who master AI systems might thrive, while those whose tasks can be automated face lower bargaining power and a shrinking share of the value created.
Are AI productivity gains real—or just shareholder optimization?
Tech leaders insist that workforce automation will make organisations far more efficient, but evidence remains mixed. A Gartner survey cited in coverage of ClickUp found that around 80% of companies using autonomous AI have reduced headcount, yet these cuts “are not reliably translating into meaningful financial returns.” ClickUp says it is measuring AI productivity gains internally and even plans to turn those metrics into a product, while investors back extreme cases like Polsia, a one‑person startup using AI for all software operations. At the same time, Wix’s AI-heavy strategy coincides with rising costs, losses, and a sliding share price despite sales growth. This pattern suggests many firms may be optimising for short‑term shareholder value—using AI to rationalise tech company layoffs and buybacks—rather than building durable, human‑centred productivity. Whether these bets pay off will depend on whether AI augments work in ways that sustain both profits and people, not only one or the other.