As the number of AI-related layoffs increases, one founder pokes fun at the boilerplate explanations that companies continue to use.
Tuomas Artman, co-founder of software company Linear, shares recruitment announcement It was dressed up in the all-too-familiar language of a layoff announcement.
“Today is a tough day. I shared this note with the @linear team today: We have made the difficult decision to increase our workforce,” he wrote in a post to X on Friday.
“This is not a cost-cutting effort or a reflection of anyone’s performance. We’re just rethinking every role for the agent AI era. We’re hiring. We’re not sorry about that.”
By Friday morning, the post had been viewed more than 270,000 times and received hundreds of comments. Many of the requests were from people inquiring about the role, suggesting that the stunt was done.
Today is a difficult day. I’ve shared this note with @linear Today’s team: We have made the difficult decision to expand our workforce. This is not a cost-cutting effort or a reflection of anyone’s performance. We’re just rethinking every role for the age of agent AI. We are currently recruiting. …
— Tuomas Artman (@artman) May 8, 2026
There are 17 open positions listed on Linear’s Careers page. A company spokesperson told Business Insider that there are 25 positions available. The company plans to recruit for more positions in the second half of this year.
Companies like Snap, Block, Coinbase, and Cloudflare have announced layoffs in recent months, citing AI as a factor. Many companies say that AI has made them more efficient, allowing them to operate with smaller teams, and they often use similar language to communicate this point.
The language has become so familiar that Business Insider’s Dan DeFrancesco wrote a Mad Lib about AI-driven layoff announcements.
Unlike rival Atlassian, which cited AI in cutting 10% of its workforce in March, Linear has not publicly announced any layoffs in its seven-year history.
But Linear, which makes tools for software engineers, has significantly fewer employees than Atlassian and other companies making cuts. Linear has 141 employees, a company spokesperson told Business Insider. Atlassian employed about 16,000 people before its recent layoffs.
Of course, there’s always the risk that your brave social media posts will come back to hurt you. As one X user replied to Artman, if the company cuts staff in the future, Mr. Rinia could be “stripped” of his post.
Atman replied, “I know, but if that happens, I will be responsible.”