Tech Firm Bird Cuts Workforce from 1,000 to 120 Amid AI Automation Push
Tech firm Bird slashed its workforce from 1,000 to 120 employees, driven by AI automation and restructuring under CEO Robert Vis, while reporting robust financial results.
The communications tech firm Bird has drastically cut its workforce from over 1,000 employees to just 120 over a span of roughly three years. CEO and founder Robert Vis attributes the massive downsizing largely to automation and the extensive implementation of artificial intelligence. Beyond reducing headcount, Vis is championing a new management philosophy: in the age of AI, generalists who can handle diverse tasks are preferred over narrow specialists.
In an interview with Business Insider, Vis explained that the company seeks proactive employees capable of operating across multiple domains. According to Vis, an engineer who excels at writing code but lacks product understanding no longer fits the company's evolving needs. AI tools empower individual employees to expand their scopes of responsibility and execute tasks that previously required entire teams.
"If you were a very high performer, but not multi-disciplinary, you wouldn't stay," Vis told Business Insider.
Strategic Shifts and Workforce Reductions
Originally founded in Amsterdam as MessageBird, the company provides businesses with infrastructure for messaging, email, and customer calls. In recent years, it has undergone a significant strategic transformation, scaling back its European operations to focus heavily on the US market.
The reduction in workforce did not happen overnight. In February 2025, TechCrunch reported that Bird laid off approximately 120 employees, representing about a third of its staff at the time. A year prior, the company had already cut around 90 positions. Furthermore, Reuters reported that Vis intended to relocate the bulk of the company's operations out of Europe, citing regulatory hurdles and a shortage of skilled tech talent.
Financial Performance and AI Integration
According to a company announcement on September 23, Bird recorded a robust EBITDA of 165 million dollars in 2025 following widespread automation. This metric represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, rather than net profit.
On the same day, the company announced a 450 million dollar debt financing round led by JPMorgan. This funding package includes a 400 million dollar term loan and a 50 million dollar revolving credit facility. According to Bird, the capital is primarily intended to provide liquidity for existing shareholders and current or past employees, rather than to fund growth.
Concurrently, Bird is developing infrastructure that enables AI agents to send messages, conduct calls, and manage customer communications through its platform. Vis maintains that automation has streamlined operations and allowed the firm to lower prices for its clients.
However, analysts note that the published data does not conclusively prove that artificial intelligence alone drove the workforce reduction or the improved financial results. The company also underwent extensive restructuring and shifted its business focus, and complete data isolating the precise impact of AI on financial performance has not been released.