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Dropbox is shedding round 500 staff, making up about 16 % of the corporate’s complete workforce. In a memo to employees, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston attributes the layoffs to a rocky economic system — but in addition says that the cuts will permit the corporate to construct out its AI division.
“In a really perfect world, we’d merely shift folks from one staff to a different. And we’ve completed that wherever attainable,” Houston writes. “Nevertheless, our subsequent stage of development requires a unique mixture of ability units, notably in AI and early-stage product growth. We’ve been bringing in nice expertise in these areas over the past couple years and we’ll want much more.”
As a part of the change, Houston says Dropbox will consolidate its core and doc workflow companies and that it’s additionally making changes to its product growth groups. Houston provides that Dropbox continues to be “worthwhile” regardless of tough financial occasions and that the job cuts are a part of the “pure maturation” of the Dropbox enterprise.
“The adjustments we’re saying right this moment, whereas painful, are needed for our future,” Houston notes. “I’m decided to make sure that Dropbox is on the forefront of the AI period, simply as we have been on the forefront of the shift to cell and the cloud. We’ll want all fingers on deck as machine intelligence offers us the instruments to reimagine our present companies and invent new ones.”
Prior to now, Houston has expressed curiosity in exploring AI, with a 2018 letter from him and co-founder Arash Ferdowsi stating that “machine intelligence” will ultimately permit Dropbox to higher perceive and serve its clients. The file internet hosting service has launched some AI-powered options through the years, such because the automatic text recognition feature it added in 2018. Nevertheless, shedding staff simply to switch them with ones with expertise in AI indicators that Dropbox is severe about making a shift into the business.
Affected staff will be capable of obtain a minimal of 16 weeks of pay, as much as six months of healthcare, and the power to maintain firm gadgets for private use. They’ll additionally obtain profession teaching and job placement assist.
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