Wix to cut 1,000 jobs, nearly 20% of workforce, as AI takes over key roles

Wix is reportedly preparing to cut around 1,000 jobs, nearly one-fifth of its global workforce, in what could become one of the largest restructuring exercises in the company’s history as artificial intelligence increasingly reshapes operations inside the business.

According to reporting by The Times of Israel, citing Hebrew-language media reports, management at the website-building company told employees that advancements in AI had reduced the need for human workers across some development and design functions.

The reported layoffs would affect roughly 20 per cent of Wix’s workforce. The company employed 5,277 people globally before the planned reductions, with more than 60 per cent based in Israel, according to company figures cited in reports.

The move places Wix among a growing list of technology firms using AI-driven restructuring to justify workforce cuts as companies attempt to reduce costs while accelerating investments in automation and generative AI tools.

AI investments move to the centre of Wix’s strategy

The reported workforce reductions come as Wix deepens its push into AI-led products and infrastructure.

Over the past year, the company acquired Israeli AI startup Base44 for $80 million and also purchased startup Hour One to strengthen its generative AI and web creation capabilities.

According to reports, Base44’s “vibe-coding” platform is now generating around $150 million in annual recurring revenue, highlighting how central AI products have become to Wix’s long-term growth strategy.

The company has increasingly positioned AI as a core layer across its website creation ecosystem, allowing users to automate elements of web design, content generation and customer interaction tools.

However, the same technologies driving Wix’s AI expansion are now also being linked to the reduction of human roles internally.

Financial strain adds pressure

The reported layoffs also follow a difficult financial quarter for the company.

Wix recently posted a first-quarter loss of $57.5 million, despite reporting 14 per cent year-on-year revenue growth to $541 million.

Reports attributed the financial strain to several factors, including:

• A $1.7 billion share buyback programme
• Rising compute and infrastructure costs linked to AI systems
• Growing operational expenses tied to AI expansion

Across the technology industry, companies are facing increasing pressure to balance heavy AI spending with investor expectations around profitability and efficiency.

That has triggered a broader shift towards leaner workforce structures, particularly in software engineering, product development and creative design teams where AI-assisted tools are becoming more common.

AI-linked layoffs spread across the tech sector

Wix is far from the only technology company linking restructuring plans to artificial intelligence adoption.

Meta recently launched another round of layoffs expected to affect around 10 per cent of its workforce, or roughly 8,000 employees, as the company continues to prioritise AI investments.

At the same time, debate is intensifying over whether AI is genuinely replacing jobs at the scale companies claim.

Earlier this year, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman suggested some businesses may be using AI as a convenient explanation for job cuts that would likely have happened regardless of automation advances.

Questions are also emerging over whether current AI spending is delivering meaningful returns.

An MIT study released last year reportedly found that 95 per cent of corporate AI investments had generated “zero return”, adding to concerns that many businesses may be overestimating the short-term commercial impact of AI deployment.

Businesses may still need human workers

Some early evidence suggests companies may be discovering limits to AI-led workforce replacement strategies.

A 2025 survey by consulting firm Robert Half, covering 2,000 hiring managers, found that 29 per cent of respondents later reopened positions that had previously been eliminated after AI systems were introduced.

The findings indicate that while AI can automate parts of workflows, many businesses are still struggling to fully replace human judgement, creativity and technical oversight.

For Wix, the coming months are likely to test whether its aggressive AI transition can improve operational efficiency without weakening the product development and creative capabilities that helped build the company’s global user base.