Cloud storage provider Dropbox will lay off 16% of its workforce

Following a wave of layoffs at various American technology companies, the pioneering cloud storage provider Dropbox is now initiating its own staff reductions. According to an official Dropbox blog post and an all-staff email from the CEO, Dropbox will lay off 16% of its workforce, impacting approximately 500 employees.

Within 30 minutes of the email’s release, affected employees will receive calendar invitations for one-on-one meetings with leadership and human resources teams. It is expected that those receiving calendar invitations may experience a sense of distress.

Although Dropbox’s current business remains relatively stable and profitable, the global economic environment has caused the company’s growth to slow. Customer pressures have become Dropbox’s pressures, and previous positive-return investments can no longer be sustained.

Moreover, Dropbox emphasizes that the era of artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived. For years, Dropbox has firmly believed that AI will endow the company with newfound capabilities and transform knowledge work. Now, Dropbox is actively embracing AI to seize opportunities, as competitors have also noticed these prospects.

In light of this, Dropbox requires more AI-related engineers. Ideally, Dropbox could transition employees to the AI team without layoffs, and the company claims to have done so to the best of its ability.

Unfortunately, embracing AI necessitates a different combination of skills. Consequently, employees lacking AI development skills will face dismissal, while Dropbox will actively recruit AI talent.

Lastly, Dropbox stresses that the current economic climate is exceptionally harsh, and the potential for investment in some areas is limited. As a result, Dropbox must strictly enforce performance management, improve efficiency, and reduce costs to release the potential for investing in future growth opportunities.

Dropbox will provide laid-off employees with four months of salary compensation and additional compensation based on their tenure at Dropbox, specifically N times their weekly salary. Affected employees will also receive their second-quarter stock options.

Laid-off employees may retain their office equipment, such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and other peripherals, for personal use.