AI & Jobs Upwork's May 7 Cut: 24% of Staff Gone, Q1 Flat at +1.4%, Q2 Guide Missed by 7%, Stock Down 19% — and the Marketplace for Human Freelancers Says AI Is the Reason
On May 7 Upwork announced a ~24% layoff (145 of about 600 staff) alongside a Q1 print where revenue grew just 1.4% and Q2 guidance came in 6.9% below consensus. The stock dropped 19.3% to $8.54. CEO Hayden Brown said AI-related work on the platform was up 40% and that smaller teams powered by Uma can do more — which is the May 2026 cohort's most uncomfortable layoff, because Upwork's product is the labor it just thinned.