ClickUp Cuts 22% of Staff, Promising $1 Million Pay Bands for AI-Powered Workers

3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · May 25

ClickUp cut 22% of its workforce last week, with CEO Zeb Evans framing the layoffs as an AI-led restructuring rather than a cost-cutting move.
About 3,000 internal AI agents now handle complex tasks, shifting employees toward directing those systems and reviewing their output as ClickUp pursues a "100x org."
Evans said savings will be reinvested in remaining staff through million-dollar salary bands for workers who deliver outsized impact with AI, and the company plans to bring those efficiency tools into a future product.
Gartner found roughly 80% of companies using autonomous technology have cut jobs, though the survey said those reductions have not consistently produced meaningful financial returns.
The move underscores a broader tech push toward leaner, AI-heavy operations, from token-use tracking inside companies to startups like Polsia, which raised $30 million while operating with a single employee.

ClickUp replaced 22% of its staff with AI. Is this a blueprint for hyper-growth or a cautionary tale for the workforce?

With AI agents now outnumbering humans 3-to-1, who is truly in control at ClickUp?

As companies promise million-dollar AI salaries after mass layoffs, is the middle-class tech job disappearing?