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Fiverr Cuts 250 Jobs In Shift To “AI-First Company” Strategy

The gig-economy platform will cut 30% of its staff in the upcoming pivot, citing productivity gains from automation and a flatter structure.

Published

10 months ago

September 17, 2025

Nour Nasir

fiverr cuts 250 jobs in shift to ai-first company strategy

Fiverr is laying off 250 employees — around 30 percent of its workforce — as the gig-economy platform pivots to an AI-first company. CEO Micha Kaufman announced the move in an essay posted to X, describing it as a shift back toward a startup-style operation with fewer management layers.

https://t.co/sK49CxkLsT

— Micha Kaufman (@michakaufman) September 15, 2025

Kaufman said the cuts reflect a new operating model: “An AI-first company that’s leaner, faster, with a modern AI-focused tech infrastructure, a smaller team, each with substantially greater productivity, and far fewer management layers,” he wrote. Fiverr has already deployed AI in customer support and fraud detection, reducing its need for headcount to maintain core services.

Hints that Fiverr might use AI to justify layoffs surfaced earlier this year. In a May interview with CBS News, Kaufman advised employees to “automate 100 percent” of their work with AI, while arguing they would still be needed for judgment calls and non-linear thinking. That advice has not shielded Fiverr’s own staff from redundancy.

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Fiverr’s announcement follows a wider pattern across the tech sector in 2025, with companies citing AI to rationalize job cuts. Duolingo declared its intention to become “AI-first” back in April, and Workday announced plans in February to cut 1,750 positions — far more than Fiverr but driven by the same pivot toward automation.

For affected employees, the outcome is familiar: fewer people left to shoulder more work. For Fiverr, the gamble is betting that automation will keep it competitive in a crowded gig-work market where platforms are racing to integrate artificial intelligence.

Related Topics:Artificial Intelligence Fiverr

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YouTube Rolls Out Supervised Children’s Accounts Across MENA

An industry-first feed timer lets parents cap Shorts scrolling. Access can also be switched off entirely ahead of exam season.

Published

12 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Dana Saadeh

YouTube

YouTube has launched supervised kid accounts across the Middle East and North Africa, giving parents a way to hand their children the main YouTube app without handing over all of it. Announced in Dubai on July 2, the accounts are built directly into the platform rather than the standalone YouTube Kids app, and are aimed at families who feel a child has outgrown the curated library but isn’t ready for the open feed.

Parents can choose from three content settings, each broadly aligned with international content ratings. Explore covers educational videos, tutorials, arts and crafts, and dance. Explore More adds gaming and live streams. Most of YouTube opens up almost everything except videos rated 18+ or deemed inappropriate for supervised accounts.

The standout tool is an industry-first Shorts feed timer, which lets parents set daily limits on short-form scrolling. Set it to zero and Shorts disappears altogether – a lever YouTube suggests parents might pull ahead of exam season. Other protections are on by default for all users under 18: “Take a Break” and “Bedtime” reminders, no personalized ad targeting, autoplay switched off, and no ability to upload videos or write comments. The accounts are optional, and parents can end supervision at any time.

The kid accounts join supervised teen accounts already available across the region, which notify parents by email when a teenager uploads a video or starts a live stream.

“YouTube has been a huge part of families’ lives across this region for over 20 years,” said Javid Aslanov, head of YouTube Middle East and North Africa, citing Kantar research showing 95% of viewers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE agree YouTube has top content in education and learning.

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“It’s essential that we protect young people in – not from – the digital world,” added Garth Graham, YouTube’s head of health.

The new settings are rolling out gradually across the MENA, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Iraq. The latest features can be set up through Family Center in the YouTube app or via Google Family Link.