“Throw the pot” AI is “reshaping all walks of life” CrowdStrike (CRWD.US) announces 5% layoffs

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on Wednesday, cybersecurity software manufacturer CrowdStrike (CRWD.US) announced plans to lay off 500 employees, accounting for about 5% of its total workforce. CEO George Kurtz (George Kurtz) said the move was also a reflection of the development of artificial intelligence technology. Kurtz wrote in a letter published on Wednesday: “We are reorienting part of our business to achieve large-scale development in a more focused and prudent manner.”

Kurtz wrote in a memorandum to the securities regulator: “Artificial intelligence has always been the cornerstone of our operations. It flattened our hiring curve and enabled us to turn ideas into products faster. At the same time, artificial intelligence can also optimize the listing process, improve customer service effectiveness, and promote the efficient operation of front and back office business. Artificial intelligence is like a powerful amplifier throughout business operations.”

Over the past month, executives at companies such as Box (BOX.US), Duol.US (DUOL.US), and Shopify (SHOP.US) have asked employees to fully adopt artificial intelligence tools in all departments.

CrowdStrike also reiterated its performance expectations for the current fiscal year ending January next year, and stated that it plans to continue recruiting employees in “key strategic areas” for the rest of the year. Affected by this news, the company's stock price fell about 5% on Wednesday and finally settled at $421.52.

Kurtz revealed that to achieve the goal of annual revenue of 10 billion US dollars, the company is focusing on expanding its marketing and customer success service team. In February of this year, CrowdStrike announced a 25% increase in revenue to $1.06 billion, but this is the second consecutive quarter in which it recorded a net loss.

Although CrowdStrike mainly attributes layoffs to the development of artificial intelligence, uncertainty in other industries, the economy, and markets has also sparked a wave of layoffs. In February of this year, Autodesk (Autodesk) announced a 9% layoff; in March, server manufacturer Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) also announced a 5% layoff. And all of this happened before President Trump announced the imposition of new tariffs on imported goods from the US last month, disrupting the US market.

CrowdStrike said the layoff plan will be completed by the end of the second quarter of this fiscal year and is expected to incur costs of 36 million to 53 million dollars. Despite the fall in stock prices on Wednesday, CrowdStrike's stock price has risen 23% since this year, far surpassing the NASDAQ index, which fell by about 8%.