Cloudflare laid off 1,100 people during its best quarter ever

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record profits + record layoffs + blame the algorithm. this is the template now. #tech #layoffs #ai #news

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Cloudflare just posted its best revenue quarter ever. $639 million. Up 34% year over year. [pause] They also announced 1,100 layoffs. 20% of their workforce. CEO Matthew Prince says this isn't about performance. It's about AI. Internal AI use rose 600% in three months. They decided they don't need those roles anymore. [pause] Here's what most coverage is burying. Prince said he expects Cloudflare to have more employees in 2027 than at any point in 2026. So the company isn't shrinking. It's replacing. The people leaving now are the bridge that gets them there. They just don't get to cross it. [pause] The CFO said cuts hit every team and geography except salespeople who carry revenue quotas. If your job was making the product work, you're out. If your job is closing deals, you're fine. That's the part nobody's telling you. 'Best quarter ever' hits different when you're the one packing your desk.

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Keep the same person, same face, same high cheekbones, same expressive brows, same dark hair with curtain bangs or a slightly grown-out mullet, same warm-toned skin with smooth subsurface scattering, same gently exaggerated Pixar-quality 3D animated proportions — character consistency is critical. Change the outfit to a thrifted blazer over a ribbed tank, dark colors, serious register. Change the pose to leaning slightly forward into frame, one hand mid-gesture as if making a precise point, eyes locked on camera. Change the background to a simple dark gradient — serious news day register, minimal distraction. Facial expression: focused and slightly sharp — the expression of someone who has just found the thing buried in the press release. Mouth closed or barely parted, eyes steady on camera, brows slightly raised but not theatrical. Resting expression consistent with HeyGen idle. 9:16 vertical portrait, shoulders and head centered, facing camera straight on. No text, no logos, no UI elements.

Conversation starters

• so do you think the 2027 hiring thing is real or just PR cover
• what happens to the workers who get cut while the company 'replatforms'
• is any company actually being honest about why they're laying people off right now