Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince has said that AI could make an entire category of workers obsolete, particularly those involved in measuring organisational performance.
In a recent opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal, Prince said that most of the employees affected by Cloudflare’s latest round of job cuts belonged to, what he called, ‘measurer’ roles, including middle management, finance, legal, internal auditing and revenue recognition teams. “The vast majority of those we laid off last week were measurers,” he wrote.
Earlier this month, the internet infrastructure and cybersecurity company announced that it is firing 20 per cent of its workforce (1100 employees) while stating that AI is changing the kinds of roles it needs.
Prince argued that the ability of AI to assess organisations now exceeds what many human employees can achieve. “Tireless, independent, efficient and available, AI systems can now measure an organisation with a level of objective detail and precision that was previously impossible even for the best employees,” he wrote.
The Cloudflare chief further suggested that ‘builders’ such as engineers, and ‘sellers’ such as sales teams, may remain relatively secure in the near term as the company continues hiring in growth-focused areas.
Cloudflare also pointed to its growing use of agentic AI systems tools capable of independently completing tasks and making decisions as a factor behind the layoffs, despite the company reporting record revenue growth and an expanding customer base.
The move comes amid growing concerns over how AI may reshape jobs across industries. Since generative AI tools gained traction following the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, companies have spoken about automation replacing certain workplace functions.
Impact of AI on jobs in 2026
AI-driven layoffs are becoming more common in the technology sector. In February, financial technology company Block, led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, cut 40 per cent of its workforce, and Meta is reducing staff by 10 per cent, which translates to thousands of employees.
Over 49,135 job cuts in the United States have been linked to AI this year alone, nearly matching the total number reported across all of 2025, as per outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
However, some industry observers remain sceptical, dismissing it as ‘AI washing’, a term used when companies attribute layoffs to AI efficiencies despite broader cost-cutting pressures or post-pandemic overhiring. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen recently argued that many firms remain overstaffed after aggressive hiring during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A recent study by Anthropic found that AI tools are increasingly capable of handling tasks linked to finance, legal, and management roles, though it also suggested engineering and sales jobs are not immune to automation. Cloudflare’s layoffs add to a growing list of companies tying workforce reductions to AI, underscoring how the technology is beginning to influence hiring and organisational structures across the tech industry.