Yesterday, Hubspot (NYSE: $HUBS) announced that it was letting go 7% of its workforce. If you’re not in the marketing/communications/technology world, you may not totally know what it is that they do; but one thing cannot be denied: AI has impacted Hubspot’s business.
Which is why yesterday’s layoff announcement — Read the complete Hubspot announcement at this link — is worth a closer look.
We’ll break down the pluses and minues — and maybe a few neutral “meh” pieces — of the full layoff communication memo here.
Plus: Assume That Every Piece Gets Leaked, So Leak It Yourself
This should be Corporate Communications 101; sadly, many places like the cloak-and-dagger approach to layoffs. Hubspot scores points for putting the employee memo on their public-facing website.
Meh: “Team,” Always Rubs Me the Wrong Way
This might be more of a nitpick on my part than anything, but starting a memo with “Team,” sounds like the type of thing a middle manager who is looking to make themselves seem more important than they are would do.
(Note: the 15 minute warning is unavoidable at a company with so many employees in so many different places, so the “Band-Aid” approach is best here.)
Minus: We’re Organized Around AI, But…This Isn’t About AI
This is a two-part contradiction in their memo, and it cannot be ignored. Above is the part that says flat-out: “we have shifted our strategy from building software that helps customers grow to delivering outcomes for them with AI.”
Then, Yamini Rangan talks about how the organization needs to be flatter and more customer-centric, and teams need to be more agile; there’s jargon in there about “GTM,” too.
BUT…while the company is using AI and is making AI and “delivering outcomes…with AI,” this…is not “driven by AI-related efficiencies.”
This is a contradiction. It may not be a bald-faced lie, but it doesn’t look good to those who think machines will put them out of work.
Plus: There Appeared To Be a Process
Those who get pink slips — and those who are left behind — will always ask the question: “Why Me?” As opposed to a random process, you want clear reasons why people are being made redundant. So this give the appearance of a process, and everyone can at least answer the question based on how they fit with the new direction of the business.
Plus: They Appear To Be Taking Care of the Departed
This looks like a rather generous severance, and it’s also pretty solid of the company to let them keep the equipment. (This is less of a communications thing and more of a business process thing; but a plus nonetheless.)
Plus: A Human Close
The CEO’s final thoughts seemed to have been written by a human. I don’t know the guy but I would imagine he talks like this.
Minus: The Overall Sentiment — Based on Factors NOT in the Memo
We’re in a really crazy market right now; Hubspot is a publicly traded company and every Wall Street type seem to be obsessed with AI. That obsession also drives the question: what is AI doing to make you more profitable.
AI automates a whole host of processes, so the efficiencies are baked in; ignoring those AI-related efficiencies as a driving factor is disingenuous at best.
Plus, while the stock is only down a percent or so this morning — I’m writing this on October 7, 2026 — it’s down by more than half in the past year.
So Wall Street is asking for those efficiencies in number format.
Final Thoughts: Honesty Is Best
I think the contradictions in the CEO’s memo are too stark to ignore. It’s okay to say that “the market is demanding a combination of human-driven and AI-driven efficiency, and we have to do both to remain competitive.” But without that honesty, we are left with the impression that this memo was written by committee, the committee included the AI bots, and…it should have been as honest as possible.
AI is changing business. We get that. Some businesses are changing, and we get that, too. Hubspot is one of those businesses and, sadly, the truth sometimes really hurts.
