No Humans Needed? Shopify Won't Hire Unless AI Can’t Do the Job
Shopify says the need for new hires will be filled when AI can't do the job.
The CEO of Shopify, Tobi Lutke is changing his company's approach to hiring in the age of artificial intelligence. This new approach requires employees to prove why they "cannot get what they want done using AI" before asking for more headcount and resources, Lutke wrote in a memo to staffers that he posted to X on Monday.
Embracing AI
"What would this area look like if autonomous AI agents were already part of the team?" Lutke wrote in the memo, which was sent to employees late last month. "This question can lead to really fun discussions and projects." He further noted that there's a "fundamental expectation" across Shopify that employees embrace AI in their daily work, saying it has been a "multiplier" of productivity for those who have used it.
"I've seen many of these people approach implausible tasks, ones we wouldn't even have chosen to tackle before, with reflexive and brilliant usage of AI to get 100X the work done," Lutke wrote.
The company, which sells web-based software that helps online retailers manage sales and run their operations, will factor AI usage into performance reviews, he added.
Drive for Tech
The directive comes as tech companies have collectively earmarked hundreds of billions of dollars for investing in AI development this year. Shopify has rolled out AI tools for its merchants, including a chatbot called Sidekick and a suite of automation tools, which it dubs "Shopify Magic."
As they invest more in AI, tech companies are looking to streamline costs in other areas, either by discontinuing money-losing projects or through layoffs. In 2024, there were roughly 152,000 roles eliminated across 549 tech companies, according to Layoffs.fyi.
At an investor event last month hosted by Morgan Stanley, Shopify CFO Jeff Hoffmeister said the company can "keep headcount relatively flat," though employee-related costs could vary due to salary differences. He noted that "a higher comp, high-end AI engineer" can lift compensation costs even if the headcount stays the same.
