AI Layoffs 2026: Freshworks and Coinbase Cut 1,200 Jobs on Record Earnings Days — The New CEO Playbook

# AI Layoffs 2026: Freshworks and Coinbase Cut 1,200 Jobs on Record Earnings Days — The New CEO Playbook

> **Quick answer:** On May 5, 2026, Freshworks cut 500 jobs (11% of its workforce) and Coinbase cut 700 jobs (14%) — both on the same day each company reported its best quarterly earnings ever. Freshworks CEO Dennis Woodside said "over half our code is now written by AI." Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong eliminated all "pure managers" in favor of AI-native pods. This is no longer a cost-cutting story. It is a new corporate playbook: post record profits, fire workers, credit AI, watch the stock rise.

The morning of May 5, 2026 produced two headlines that seemed contradictory until you understood that they were the same headline. Freshworks reported its best quarter ever — revenue up 16% year over year to $228.6 million, its two largest-ever enterprise deals — and then announced it was eliminating 500 roles. Coinbase was having a similarly strong quarter, and CEO Brian Armstrong announced the company was cutting roughly 700 employees, 14% of its workforce, to restructure around what he called "AI-native pods." Same day. Record earnings. Mass layoffs. Cheering investors.

This is what AI layoffs 2026 actually look like.

## What Happened on May 5, 2026: The Details

Freshworks CEO Dennis Woodside delivered the line that immediately went viral in tech circles: "Over half of our code is now written by AI."