Patreon layoffs will cut 20% of staff as CEO cites AI shift
Patreon is cutting about 93 jobs, with CEO Jack Conte saying AI has changed how the company works and builds products.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
2 min read
Patreon layoffs tied to AI’s impact on the tech industry will eliminate 20% of the company’s workforce, or about 93 employees, according to 404 Media. The cuts matter because Patreon is a major platform for creators who rely on paid memberships, and its chief executive is linking the reorganization to changes in how technology companies operate.
Patreon CEO Jack Conte told employees in a memo posted on Patreon that the company was not making the cuts because it believes “AI replaces humans.” He wrote that AI has changed the tech industry, including how companies work, build products and communicate.
Conte said that shift has also changed how Patreon operates and organizes itself. The memo did not describe the cuts as a direct replacement of employees with AI systems, according to Conte’s post.
Why is Patreon cutting jobs?
Conte attributed the restructuring to the way AI has altered work inside the tech industry, rather than to a stated belief that people can be swapped out for AI. In his memo, he said the technology has affected product development, communication and internal organization.
Patreon’s business serves creators who use the platform to sell subscriptions and memberships to fans. Conte has argued publicly that the company needs to adopt AI tools to keep serving those creators.
In an interview on Decoder last month, Conte said Patreon was “100 percent embracing” AI tools inside the company. He described Patreon as a product and engineering company and said it needed to use those tools to help creators.
Conte said in that interview that if Patreon did not fully adopt AI tools as a product and engineering company, it would be “dead in three years.” His comments show that the company’s AI push was underway before the latest job cuts were announced.
Patreon has cut staff before
The latest layoffs follow an earlier round of cuts in 2022. Patreon laid off 17% of its workforce that year and shut its offices in Dublin and Berlin, according to prior reporting by The Verge.
The new reduction is larger as a share of staff than the 2022 cuts. 404 Media reported the latest figure at 20% of employees, and The Verge reported that the total equals about 93 workers.
Conte’s memo, as reported, does not give a broader financial explanation for the cuts. It focuses on AI’s effect on the technology industry and on Patreon’s own structure, while rejecting the idea that the company is acting from a belief that AI replaces workers.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.