This $4 Billion Startup Just Laid Off 22% of Employees - So It Can Offer Remaining Staff $1 Million Salaries

ClickUp cut 22% of its 1,300-person workforce as part of an AI-focused restructuring. The CEO said the layoffs were not intended to cut costs. Savings from the changes will be directed back to employees who remain, including new compensation bands that can reach up to $1 million per year in base salary. The compensation model is tied closely to performance, with employees who create outsized impact using AI potentially paid outside traditional salary bands. Employees who do not meet expectations may not benefit from the new structure. The company is accelerating AI use to automate tasks, streamline decision-making, and unify how teams manage work, with internal expectations to expand AI agent use across teams.

""This wasn't about cutting costs," Evans wrote on X about the layoffs. "Most savings from this change will flow directly back into the people who stay. We'll be introducing million-dollar salary bands.""

""If you create outsized impact using AI, you'll be paid outside of traditional bands," Evans wrote in his X post. The idea is to reward top talent and push productivity higher, with pay tied to performance outcomes rather than fixed traditional ranges."

"ClickUp has accelerated its use of AI to automate tasks, streamline decision-making and unify how teams manage work. The shift is coming directly from leadership, with a clear internal mandate to expand the use of AI agents across teams."

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