Keeping employees strung on tenterhooks as they await news on the future of their jobs, GitLab has announced plans for layoffs across its operations, citing AI as the crutch that companies continue to lean on in 2026. In a new memo to employees, which was also shared publicly on the company website, GitLab CEO Bill Staples alerted the workforce to “significant changes” that were underway at the organization as part of the GitLab Act 2 game plan.
Breaking down the update into a three-part outline on the structural, strategic, and customer-centric changes that were occurring across operations, GitLab laid out its growth strategy, which unsurprisingly begins with a restructuring of the workforce that is happening “openly.” While GitLab may claim that its AI-motivated restructuring is “not like others you may be seeing in the news,” and while there are many reasons to credit the company for its approach, the impact on its workforce is expected to remain the same.
The GitLab layoffs tackle plans for structural change in internal operations and a desire to right-size the business in preparation for the agentic era. (Image: Pexels)
What We Know About the Gitlab Layoffs and the Workforce Reductions Aimed at Optimizing for AI
Transparency is key to sustaining any operation, and to GitLab’s credit, the organization isn’t playing coy with the possibility of layoffs across its operations. Laying out the details well in advance to allow employees to mentally prepare for the changes that are to come, GitLab’s layoff announcement didn’t arrive at the end of the process, but instead serves to alert its workers that their managers and supervisors will soon enter into discussions with the leadership team to explore how it can best reduce its global operational footprint and optimize for change.
As such, GitLab’s preparation for the agentic era doesn’t come with a clear estimate of the headcount of workers who will be eliminated or a targeted cost-cutting strategy that will seek out redundancies across operations. While the goal of flattening the operations and eliminating layers within organizational hierarchies echoes what we’ve seen from other tech giants, the final call on the restructuring will only take shape in the coming weeks.
“The reason we’re not landing the full decision today is that getting the shape of the next GitLab right matters more than getting it fast — and a transparent process with input from you, your managers, leaders across the organization, and our employee representatives is the best way to land this change with an organization ready to move forward,” GitLab CEO Bill Staples explained in the memo. “I want to be direct: I want to do this once, and do it right, and not revisit our structure anytime in the foreseeable future,” he added.
Clear the Stage for GitLab Act 2: Let the Restructuring Commence
As with most organizations, GitLab appears to be focused on redefining its business operations and identity for the agentic AI era, establishing a new set of operating principles to optimize its approach. Part of this involves reducing its country footprint down from nearly 60 countries by 30%, focused on areas where only a handful of people operate. Regions where smaller teams are located can expect to be affected by the change, although those who are “in good standing and would like to relocate are welcome to do so.”
The GitLab layoffs are also targeted at flattening the organization down from eight layers to help connect teams with leadership better, which suggests that managers and supervisory roles could face elimination. GitLab’s growth strategy also talks about role-rightsizing and optimizing positions to better suit the business needs, but this change will hinge on AI usage and where it can be expanded upon. Staples reiterated that daily AI use is expected from every employee who remains at the organization, and the company is also set to launch “AI acceleration programs to support every role” as part of this transformation.
Retiring the CREDIT values framework that previously governed operations, the new era of GitLab, with its Act 2 growth strategy, sets three new principles at the center of operations: speed with quality, ownership mindset, and customer outcomes. Many of these principles focus on working with smaller, more integrated teams that also account for AI automation as much as possible. Employees are also expected to take charge of their assigned roles with greater vigor and showcase more accountability for their work. Left with smaller teams at the end of the GitLab layoffs, employees will likely have no choice but to double down and expand on their roles.
Gitlab’s Layoff Strategy Comes with the Option of Voluntary Separation as Well as Better Benefits for Those Who Stay
The GitLab job cuts are uniquely framed in that it doesn’t just emphasize a desire for smaller teams but lay out the company’s plans for future operations in greater detail and prepare the workforce for the intensity with which they will be required to work if they choose to remain. Those who no longer feel aligned with the organization’s direction can apply for voluntary separation before May 18, and they will be offered a standard separation package, barring any changes made to adhere to local regulations.
Those who remain at the organization, either voluntarily or having been spared the layoffs, GitLab does an efficient job of reassuring workers that their time will not be taken up with uncertainties regarding future cuts. Employees have been promised a better on-the-job experience, including smaller teams with clearer goals, reduced friction in communication and operations, greater clarity on changes and programs, and assurances of career growth.
The winning detail is in the promise of better pay, with the company adding that a new bonus program will be employed for those who are not on an incentive compensation plan or bonus plan already. As part of this strategy, employees will have the opportunity to earn a cash bonus based on their individual performance, targeting 10% of their salary, awarded at their manager’s discretion. A guaranteed hike in pay may have worked better, but the promise of better rewards is one way of keeping employees motivated.
What GitLab Gets Right In Its AI-Themed Layoffs
There is no real way to conduct layoffs and be applauded as an ideal employer in the same breath, but GitLab does get a lot right in its approach to the change. While the next few weeks are expected to be excruciating for employees who await news on the future of their roles, GitLab also opens the door for conversations with managers on how employees envision their future at the organization.
The GitLab layoffs also allow employees to exit on their own if that is a preferred alternative to layoffs, and while being cornered into leaving still isn’t ideal, it is an option nonetheless. GitLab’s offer of better working conditions and career growth for those who remain also does much of the heavy lifting, allowing workers who make it out unscathed a reason to look forward to their time on the job. Workplace survivors’ guilt is a very real phenomenon that many employers don’t account for, and addressing the future of the workforce beyond lofty business ambitions is something that more businesses should consider.
Much like the Cloudflare layoffs announced recently, GitLab offers “world-class” treatment to its workforce in exchange for their expectations of world-class performance from workers. While this does cause our suspicions to arise of reading from the same script, it offers the workforce something to look forward to. There is considerably more to explore in relation to GitLab’s preparations for the agentic era, but for now, we’ll wait for more details on how the company’s layoff plans unfold. More details of the GitLab job cuts should emerge following the earnings call scheduled on June 2.
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