Webflow layoffs

# Brutal bloodbath at California tech startup Webflow as staff locked out without warning Source: [https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/tech/bloodbath-at-california-tech-startup-as-staff-locked-out-without-warning/](https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/tech/bloodbath-at-california-tech-startup-as-staff-locked-out-without-warning/) Website building and hosting platform Webflow is the latest victim of[Artificial Intelligence](https://nypost.com/2026/03/31/business/tech-ceo-aravind-srinivas-slammed-after-saying-ai-layoffs-are-fine-because-people-hate-their-jobs-anyway/)that has wreaked havoc on[California’s tech industry](https://nypost.com/2026/01/27/opinion/tech-elite-will-flee-california-over-wealth-seizure-ballot-measure/)— revealing Wednesday that many of its staff will be laid off\. CEO Linda Tong said the company is at an “inflection point” and had to make the “difficult decision to restructure,” adding “many” of the workers will be canned\. “The way businesses build for the web is changing fast,” Tong said\. “[AI is rewriting the rules](https://nypost.com/2025/11/09/us-news/meet-the-brains-blurring-our-reality-with-ai-videos-set-to-become-the-new-superstars-of-the-sora-app/)for how marketing teams create, test, and optimize digital experiences\. And the companies that move decisively through moments like this are the ones that come out ahead\.” [](https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/tech/bloodbath-at-california-tech-startup-as-staff-locked-out-without-warning/#) Website building and hosting platform Webflow is the latest victim of Artificial Intelligence that has wreaked havoc on California’s tech industry — revealing Wednesday that many of its staff will be laid off\.Getty Images[](https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/tech/bloodbath-at-california-tech-startup-as-staff-locked-out-without-warning/#) CEO Linda Tong said the company is at an “inflection point” and had to make the “difficult decision to restructure,” adding “many” of the workers will be canned\.Sportsfile via Getty ImagesWebflow spokesperson Paul Chalker declined to say the exact number of employees that will be impacted, but the company employees between 500 and 1,000 people, according to its LinkedIn\. “We’re moving to smaller, more focused teams that can move faster and drive impact for our customers,” Tong said\. “We’re moving to a simpler structure, with leaders who stay closer to the work\.” This is the second time the company has slashed its workforce, back in 2024 8% of employees lost their jobs according to The San Francisco Chronicle\. A Webflow software engineer who spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity described the latest layoffs as a “bloodbath,” and believes more people will be without work this time around\. [](https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/tech/bloodbath-at-california-tech-startup-as-staff-locked-out-without-warning/#) Webflow spokesperson Paul Chalker declined to say the exact number of employees that will be impacted, but the company employees between 500 and 1,000 people, according to its LinkedIn\.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesThe former worker detailed the timeline of events to the outlet, saying he woke up around 7:30am to a series of concerning text messages from colleagues and about an hour and a half later received an email informing him that his employment had been terminated\. “C\-suite thinks that I’m being[replaced by AI](https://nypost.com/2025/10/06/business/ai-could-wipe-out-100m-us-jobs-over-the-next-decade-senate-committee-report/), but they don’t actually understand what AI is doing,” the former Webflow developer told the paper\. ### Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day\. ### Thanks for signing up\! “They’re going to find out at some point that they haven’t actually replaced anything, all they’ve done is make a mess\. You can’t replace people with AI because AI does not work that way\.” Another worker said she was notified from her personal email account of her termination\. [](https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/tech/bloodbath-at-california-tech-startup-as-staff-locked-out-without-warning/#) “C\-suite thinks that I’m being replaced by AI, but they don’t actually understand what AI is doing,” the former Webflow developer told the paper\.Sportsfile via Getty ImagesBoth former employees said there was no heads up that layoffs were coming, according to the Chronicle\. “As part of our standard security process, access to company devices and systems was restricted a few minutes before notifications were sent to personal email addresses,” Chalker told the Chronicle in a statement\. --- ## **Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters** **California Post News**:[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/TheCaliforniaPost/),[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/californiapost),[TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@CaliforniaPost),[X](https://x.com/californiapost),[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@thecaliforniapost),[WhatsApp](https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6a2IV1NCrL6q2AWq0E),[LinkedIn](http://linkedin.com/company/californiapost) **California Post Sports**[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/capostsports/),[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/capostsports/?hl=en),[TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@capostsports),[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@CaliforniaPostSports),[X](https://x.com/capostsports) **California Post**[Opinion](https://x.com/californiapost) **California Post Newsletters**:[Sign up here\!](https://email.nypost.com/#california-post) **California Post App**:[Download here\!](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/california-post/id6751343487) **Home delivery**:[Sign up here\!](https://subscribe.californiapost.com/defaultCAP)[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/california-post/id6751343487](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/california-post/id6751343487)**Page Six Hollywood**:[Sign up here\!](https://pagesix.com/hollywood-signup/) --- “That step was taken to protect customer data and company information, not to leave employees without information or support\.” [More than 140,000 tech jobs](https://nypost.com/2026/04/02/business/ai-pushes-2026-tech-layoffs-past-50k-and-counting-employers-say/)have been slashed so far this year, with AI largely being at the center of restructuring\. [](https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/tech/bloodbath-at-california-tech-startup-as-staff-locked-out-without-warning/#) More than 140,000 tech jobs have been slashed so far this year, with AI largely being at the center of restructuring\.Sportsfile via Getty ImagesIn April,[Meta announced it was cutting 8,000 jobs](https://nypost.com/2026/05/21/business/zuckerberg-defends-metas-bloodbath-layoffs-success-isnt-a-given-in-ai-push/), while other major tech leaders like[Intuit](https://nypost.com/2026/05/20/business/intuit-to-lay-off-thousands-of-employees-slash-workforce-by-17/), Cisco, and Linkedin also making drastic changes to their workforce\. WIX, the Israeli\-based company, announced Wednesday it was reducing its workforce by roughly 20%\. In a post to X, CEO Avishai Abraham said the move is due to currency exchange rates between the Shekel and US dollar \(one shekel equals about \.35 US dollars\), as well as the rapid evolution of AI\. “We have witnessed the most significant shift in how companies are built since the invention of modern programming languages in the 1970s, Abraham said\. “This is not just about adopting new tools – it is about rewiring how companies are built, how they think, how they manage and how they operate\.” 2026 is on pace for a record\-setting year of tech layoffs — in just about five months there have been 144,000 layoffs, Yahoo reported citing data from Trueup, compared to 245,000 tech jobs that were cut in 2025\.