‘It was a bloodbath’: S.F. startup Webflow announces abrupt round of layoffs - San Francisco Chronicle

Ah, another day, another 'bloodbath' in San Francisco's tech sector — and this time Webflow is the one wielding the machete. CEO Linda Tong has cited 'AI tools transforming website development' as the reason for the abrupt layoffs, which is corporate-speak for 'we replaced you with a chatbot that can't even center a div.' One imagines Webflow's former employees applying for those grants with the same enthusiasm they'd have for a participation trophy.

Webflow's move is hardly unique, but the speed and brutality are worth noting. Employees were reportedly informed with minimal notice, their projects instantly reassigned to AI-driven templates that promise 'drag-and-drop simplicity' — as if simplicity were ever the point of skilled labor. The company's valuation had soared during the low-interest-rate era, when every startup could afford to hire actual humans to build things. Now interest rates are up, AI is cheap, and the humans are out. 'Transforming website development' turns out to mean 'transforming employment status from active to former.'

The tragedy, of course, is that this isn't even new. We've seen this playbook at Meta, at Google, at a hundred faceless SaaS companies. The only novelty is the excuse: AI isn't coming for your job, it's already here and it's demanding your desk. Webflow's layoffs are a small, efficient pogrom in the ongoing war between venture capital and the workforce. At this rate, that'll cover about a week's worth of severance for the entire sector. Pass the cold brew.