ClickUp reduces its workforce by 22% while providing $1 million salaries amid its AI restructuring efforts.

      ClickUp has reduced its workforce by 22 percent and introduced $1 million salary bands for the remaining employees. CEO Zeb Evans stated that the company is restructuring according to a “100x org” model, whereby AI agents will outnumber human employees by three to one.

      As a $4 billion productivity platform, ClickUp's layoffs, announced on X by Evans, are presented not as mere cost-cutting but as a strategic move towards AI. He mentioned that the savings would be redistributed to the remaining employees in the form of substantial salary bands.

      Evans described the new organizational structure as a “100x org,” stressing that the advent of AI has transformed software development, making the necessary roles to function at a high level fundamentally different. He believes that ClickUp cannot achieve its goals through minor adjustments to existing systems but must undertake a complete overhaul.

      The restructuring is a continuation of ClickUp's rapid integration of AI technologies. A Fortune article published just before the layoffs detailed that the company operates around 3,000 internal AI agents across its divisions, resulting in a 3:1 ratio of agents to staff. Prior to direct communication, Evans requires employees to consult an AI agent trained to act on his behalf.

      Evans identified three essential employee categories for this new structure: the “builders,” who are divided into 10x engineers and 10x product managers. He argued that top engineers no longer code themselves but instead guide AI agents to do so. The crucial skill has shifted to judgment and oversight, as AI greatly enhances the productivity of the best engineers.

      He referred to this shift as the “great reckoning of AI coding,” predicting that all companies will soon encounter it. According to him, organizations that boast 500 percent more pull requests are simply increasing volume without achieving meaningful results; more code could create further bottlenecks.

      The second category, “system managers” or agent managers, comprises individuals who automate their jobs using AI, thereby becoming the stewards of the systems they create. Evans contended that anyone who automates their position will always maintain job security, as the focus shifts from individual tasks to overarching systems.

      The third category includes “front-liners,” those who interact directly with customers. In an environment dominated by AI communication, Evans emphasized the importance of maintaining human contact, asserting that this interaction should be prioritized while the surrounding systems are fully automated.

      He also noted the merging of product management and design roles, with customer-focused designers transitioning into more product management-like positions, and product managers with UX insight taking on characteristics of designers. He claimed that the bottleneck in user research has dissipated, as a simple mention to an AI agent can initiate and assess a research cycle.

      The most striking aspect of this restructuring is the new compensation model, which features salary bands reaching up to $1 million annually. This opportunity is available to nearly anyone who can create or oversee AI systems that yield “100x impact.” Evans believes that in an era where top talent can produce 100 times greater outputs, retaining these individuals for the long term is essential.

      This announcement comes during a challenging period for tech employees, with over 100,000 jobs lost across approximately 250 events in 2026 alone. Major companies, such as Meta, which cut 8,000 roles despite reporting record revenue, and Oracle, which let go of up to 30,000 workers to support AI development, reflect a pattern of simultaneous job reductions and increased savings directed towards AI investment.

      Evans’s perspective is more forthright than many others in the industry. While other CEOs may use vague language about efficiency, he explicitly argues that the positions being cut are structurally obsolete. Whether this approach is viewed as transparency or arrogance will depend on the success of the 100x org model.

      ClickUp reported around $300 million in annual recurring revenue as of 2025 and has shown interest in an IPO. The company acquired the AI coding platform Codegen late last year. As AI continues to reshape the landscape of developer tools and productivity software, Evans is banking on a smaller, higher-paid workforce effectively managing thousands of AI agents to surpass the performance of its previous structure.

      However, not everyone supports this approach. In China, courts have ruled against dismissing workers solely due to AI replacement, whereas no such protections exist in the US. For the 22 percent of ClickUp employees who have lost their jobs this week, this distinction is significant.