--- title: "GitLab falls on workforce reduction plan tied to “agentic era”" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/286075220.md" description: "GitLab's shares fell nearly 9% in premarket trading following the announcement of a workforce reduction plan as part of a restructuring strategy termed the \"agentic era\" by CEO Bill Staples. The plan aims to reduce the company's country footprint by up to 30%, eliminate management layers, and reorganize R&D into smaller teams, while incorporating AI agents for automation. The company did not disclose the number of jobs affected but stated the restructuring will be finalized by June 1, with further financial details to be shared on June 2." datetime: "2026-05-12T10:01:10.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/286075220.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286075220.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/286075220.md) --- # GitLab falls on workforce reduction plan tied to “agentic era” It can be pretty jarring, and it certainly makes for an uncomfortable internal vibe, when stocks soar after a company announces a swathe of job cuts. Fewer employees mean lower costs, and likely stronger earnings for shareholders. But in the age of AI, the market's reaction to a round of layoffs has become less predictable. If investors already rate your company an AI-winner, or even if it's seen to have the potential to benefit from AI, the market tends to reward AI-linked job cuts in a "wow, you're so efficient and innovative" kind of way (See: Block, Coinbase, and Snap). But, if there's even a whiff of AI threatening your business, AI-related job cuts are seemingly interpreted as an admission of weakness — which is exactly the case for GitLab this morning. Shares in the company are down **nearly** **9%** in premarket trading Tuesday after the software development platform announced a restructuring plan amid what CEO Bill Staples called the “agentic era.” In a memo to employees and investors, Staples said the company is planning a “workforce reduction” as part of a restructuring it expects to finalize on or before June 1. The plan includes reducing its country footprint by up to **30%**, removing up to **three layers** of management in some functions, reorganizing R&D into roughly 60 smaller teams, and using **AI agents** to automate internal reviews, approvals, and handoffs. The company did not specify how many jobs would be affected. Staples said the process will happen “openly,” including a voluntary separation window. GitLab sells a software-development platform that helps companies manage code from planning and review to testing, security, and release — a workflow AI agents are beginning to automate. The company reaffirmed its Q1 and full-year fiscal 2027 guidance, adding that the final scope and financial impact of the restructuring will be shared on its June 2 earnings call, after approval by the board. ### Related Stocks - [GTLB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GTLB.US.md) - [XSW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XSW.US.md) - [SQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SQ.US.md) - [COIN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/COIN.US.md) - [SNAP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SNAP.US.md) - [XYZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XYZ.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [GitLab Stock Fell on Major Layoffs. They Were Necessary to Enter the Agentic AI Era.](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286292212.md) - [Microsoft Stock Is a Buy as Its AI Business’ Annual Revenue Run Rate Swells](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286451364.md) - [Is AI a bubble? It’s starting to get soapy](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286937439.md) - [Jeff Bezos says software engineers shouldn't be afraid of AI: 'Be so happy!'](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287085498.md) - [Intuit to cut 3,000 jobs, Reuters reports, as stock falls ahead of earnings](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287085534.md)