Cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike has announced plans to lay off about 5% of its global workforce, accounting for 500 jobs across the company. The plan was announced soon after a press release that revealed record-numbers of full year operating cash flow and full year free cash flow.
The company also stated that it wishes to increase hiring in strategic areas, primarily focusing on customer-facing and product-engineering roles.
While efficiency and financial goals appear to be the main motive for the layoffs, a statement by CEO George Kurtz suggests that the potential of AI could have played a significant role in the decision.
CrowdStrike Reveals Plans to Lay Off 5% of Global Workforce
Austin-based cybersecurity and technology company CrowdStrike has announced it will be cutting around 500 jobs, which accounts to around 5% of its global workforce. In an 8-K filing on Tuesday, the company reported the layoffs as part of a plan to operate more efficiently and reach its goal of $10 billion in ending Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).
The annoucement comes off the back of a Sunday press release, where CrowdStrike revealed it had had a record full year of $1.38 billion in operating cash flow, and a record full year of free cash flow of $1.07 billion. CEO George Kurtz also made more than $46 million last year, according to the AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions in the US.
This just in! View
the top business tech deals for 2025 👨💻
Kurtz wrote, in a letter to employees, that the changes in the workforce will allow the company to move “faster, operate more efficiently, and continue our cybersecurity leadership.”
CrowdStrike Plans to Increase Hiring in Strategic Areas
While also removing roles, CrowdStrike wish to continue hiring in strategic areas, notably, in customer-facing and product-engineering roles.
It plans to start meeting with employees this week, with its offices being closed on Wednesday and Thursday, and workers being told to work from home. Those who come into the office are expected to be turned away.
CrowdStrike’s impressive repuation came under fire last summer when a faulty update to its software impacted 8.5 million Windows devices around the world, causing a massive outage that affected banks, retailers, brokerage companies, and rail networks.
Cybersecurity, and AI, Remain a Top Business Priority
Businesses and governments still rely heavily on cybersecurity measures as data breaches and hacks become increasingly common. At Tech.co, we’ve been keeping track of these data breaches as they’re happening, and we definitely have had much to report on.
In fact, in a recent Experis study, it was found that businesses are more concerned with cybersecurity (41%) than they are with AI integration (19%). However, CrowdStrike could be thinking about AI in relation to the layoffs:
“AI flattens our hiring curve, and helps us innovate from idea to product faster. It streamlines go-to-market, improves customer outcomes, and drives efficiencies across both the front and back office.” – CrowdStrike CEO, George Kurtz
Therefore, while experiments have proved difficult in the past, this move could be seen partially as a shift towards more AI agents being used in the workforce to replace employees.
