Why office software companies are cutting staff for AI

Monday.com, a platform used by businesses to track projects and manage workflows, is laying off roughly 630 employees, representing 20 percent of its staff. The company describes this as a strategic restructuring intended to channel its resources into building an AI Work Platform. This platform aims to replace or supplement existing manual processes with AI agents—digital assistants capable of performing specific tasks without constant human guidance. These tasks include creating reports, updating internal data dashboards, and automating repetitive work steps. This move follows a recurring pattern across the technology sector, where firms are cutting thousands of jobs specifically to reallocate their budgets toward developing and integrating these advanced automated tools.

To understand this shift, think of the difference between an office tool and an AI agent. Traditional software is like a digital notepad or a filing cabinet; it is a passive tool that sits idle until you type, click, or drag information into it. You must do the work, and the software simply organizes the results. An AI agent acts more like a high-level digital intern. It is built on a foundation of training data that allows it to predict and execute steps independently. Instead of you manually filling out a progress report, the AI agent can monitor your existing data, synthesize the updates, and draft the report for you automatically. By rearranging their company structure, these software makers are trying to move away from just being the digital filing cabinet and toward being a service that actively performs the tasks usually handled by people.

The rise of these AI assistants suggests a future where our relationship with software will be less about inputs and more about oversight. We are moving toward a period where the value of a business software subscription is defined by what the program can do on its own, not just what it helps us build. However, this transition leaves behind many workers whose roles were previously centered on managing those manual tasks. As companies bet their futures on automation, the question remains whether these AI agents will successfully take over the heavy lifting of office work or if they will simply create new, different kinds of burdens for the humans who remain to manage them.