{"id":465809,"date":"2026-05-29T09:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/465809\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T09:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:01:18","slug":"brutal-bloodbath-at-california-tech-startup-webflow-as-staff-locked-out-without-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/465809\/","title":{"rendered":"Brutal bloodbath at California tech startup Webflow as staff locked out without warning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b3ef8565597413b037ec10eb6a2cf1ab.jpeg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"eager\" height=\"640\" width=\"960\" class=\"yf-lglytj  loaded\"\/>     <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">Website building and hosting platform Webflow is the latest victim of <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/31\/business\/tech-ceo-aravind-srinivas-slammed-after-saying-ai-layoffs-are-fine-because-people-hate-their-jobs-anyway\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Artificial Intelligence;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Artificial Intelligence&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Artificial Intelligence<\/a> that has wreaked havoc on <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/27\/opinion\/tech-elite-will-flee-california-over-wealth-seizure-ballot-measure\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:California\u2019s tech industry;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;California\u2019s tech industry&quot;}\" class=\"link \">California\u2019s tech industry<\/a> \u2014 revealing Wednesday that many of its staff will be laid off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">CEO Linda Tong said the company is at an \u201cinflection point\u201d and had to make the \u201cdifficult decision to restructure,\u201d adding \u201cmany\u201d of the workers will be canned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">\u201cThe way businesses build for the web is changing fast,\u201d Tong said. \u201c<a href=\"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\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:AI is rewriting the rules;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;AI is rewriting the rules&quot;}\" class=\"link \">AI is rewriting the rules<\/a> 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" alt=\"Website building and hosting platform Webflow is the latest victim of Artificial Intelligence that has wreaked havoc on California\u2019s tech industry \u2014 revealing Wednesday that many of its staff will be laid off. Getty Images\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"639\" width=\"960\" class=\"yf-lglytj loader\"\/> Website building and hosting platform Webflow is the latest victim of Artificial Intelligence that has wreaked havoc on California\u2019s tech industry \u2014 revealing Wednesday that many of its staff will be laid off. Getty Images       <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" alt=\"CEO Linda Tong said the company is at an \u201cinflection point\u201d and had to make the \u201cdifficult decision to restructure,\u201d adding \u201cmany\u201d of the workers will be canned. Sportsfile via Getty Images\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"1024\" width=\"746\" class=\"yf-lglytj loader\"\/> CEO Linda Tong said the company is at an \u201cinflection point\u201d and had to make the \u201cdifficult decision to restructure,\u201d adding \u201cmany\u201d of the workers will be canned. Sportsfile via Getty Images      <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">\u201cWe\u2019re moving to smaller, more focused teams that can move faster and drive impact for our customers,\u201d Tong said. \u201cWe\u2019re moving to a simpler structure, with leaders who stay closer to the work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">A Webflow software engineer who spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity described the latest layoffs as a \u201cbloodbath,\u201d and believes more people will be without work this time around.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" alt=\"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 Images\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"639\" width=\"960\" class=\"yf-lglytj loader\"\/> 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 Images      <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">The 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">\u201cC-suite thinks that I\u2019m being <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/10\/06\/business\/ai-could-wipe-out-100m-us-jobs-over-the-next-decade-senate-committee-report\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:replaced by AI;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;replaced by AI&quot;}\" class=\"link \">replaced by AI<\/a>, but they don\u2019t actually understand what AI is doing,\u201d the former Webflow developer told the paper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">\u201cThey\u2019re going to find out at some point that they haven\u2019t actually replaced anything, all they\u2019ve done is make a mess. You can\u2019t replace people with AI because AI does not work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">Another worker said she was notified from her personal email account of her termination.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" alt=\"\u201cC-suite thinks that I\u2019m being replaced by AI, but they don\u2019t actually understand what AI is doing,\u201d the former Webflow developer told the paper. Sportsfile via Getty Images\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"639\" width=\"960\" class=\"yf-lglytj loader\"\/> \u201cC-suite thinks that I\u2019m being replaced by AI, but they don\u2019t actually understand what AI is doing,\u201d the former Webflow developer told the paper. Sportsfile via Getty Images      <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">Both former employees said there was no heads up that layoffs were coming, according to the Chronicle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">\u201cAs 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,\u201d\u00a0Chalker told the Chronicle in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>         Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters      <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">California Post News: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCaliforniaPost\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Facebook;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Facebook&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Facebook<\/a>, <a 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class=\"link \">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@capostsports\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:TikTok;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;TikTok&quot;}\" class=\"link \">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@CaliforniaPostSports\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:YouTube;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;YouTube&quot;}\" class=\"link \">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/capostsports\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:X;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;X&quot;}\" class=\"link \">X<\/a><br \/>California Post <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/californiapost\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Opinion;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Opinion&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Opinion<\/a> <br \/>California Post Newsletters: <a href=\"https:\/\/email.nypost.com\/#california-post\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sign up here!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Sign up here!&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Sign up here!<\/a><br \/>California Post App: <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Download here!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Download here!&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Download here!<\/a><br \/>Home delivery: <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.californiapost.com\/defaultCAP\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sign up here!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Sign up here!&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Sign up here!<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Page Six Hollywood:;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Page Six Hollywood&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Page Six Hollywood: <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/hollywood-signup\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sign up here!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Sign up here!&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">\u201cThat step was taken to protect customer data and company information, not to leave employees without information or support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/02\/business\/ai-pushes-2026-tech-layoffs-past-50k-and-counting-employers-say\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:More than 140,000 tech jobs;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;More than 140,000 tech jobs&quot;}\" class=\"link \">More than 140,000 tech jobs<\/a> have been slashed so far this year, with AI largely being at the center of restructuring.<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" alt=\"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 Images\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"1023\" width=\"770\" class=\"yf-lglytj loader\"\/> 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 Images     <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">In April, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/21\/business\/zuckerberg-defends-metas-bloodbath-layoffs-success-isnt-a-given-in-ai-push\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Meta announced it was cutting 8,000 jobs;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Meta announced it was cutting 8,000 jobs&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Meta announced it was cutting 8,000 jobs<\/a>, while other major tech leaders like <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/markets\/stocks\/articles\/california-intuit-slash-thousands-jobs-162550648.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Intuit;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Intuit&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Intuit<\/a>, Cisco, and Linkedin also making drastic changes to their workforce.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">WIX, the Israeli-based company, announced Wednesday it was reducing its workforce by roughly 20%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">\u201cWe have witnessed the most significant shift in how companies are built since the invention of modern programming languages in the 1970s, Abraham said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">\u201cThis is not just about adopting new tools \u2013 it is about rewiring how companies are built, how they think, how they manage and how they operate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1fy9kyt\">2026 is on pace for a record-setting year of tech layoffs \u2014 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.<\/p>\n<p> <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Website building and hosting platform Webflow is the latest victim of Artificial Intelligence that has wreaked havoc on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[345,343,344,4670,146542,216645,1077,85,126423,46,216647,2354,125,164965,216646],"class_list":["post-465809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-california","tag-california-post","tag-ceo-linda-tong","tag-getty-images","tag-il","tag-inflection-point","tag-israel","tag-linda-tong","tag-tech-jobs","tag-technology","tag-webflow","tag-website-building"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}