How we organise ourselves at work is undergoing a tectonic shift. That’s not just hyperbole or a reactionary response to all the recent talk of the AI apocalypse affecting SaaS companies and beyond. I think this has been brewing for a while.

One longstanding aspect is effectiveness of start-ups versus large, incumbent organisations covered in my trend report here: Startup Innovation. The other is cutting bureaucracy which I’ve banged on about before too.

we're making @blocks smaller today. here's my note to the company.

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today we're making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we're reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are…

— jack (@jack) February 26, 2026

A recent announcement by former founder of Twitter and now CEO of Blocks, Jack Dorsey, raised much discussion about this.

He made news by the size of the reduction in workforce relative to the total number of employees.

Debate has raged about the real reason for the cuts and whether it is down to AI, cost cutting in the face of economic headwinds, or taking the opportunity to become leaner.

Atlassian claims it's cutting 1,600 people to "self-fund AI investment." Everyone's calling it "AI layoffs."

But here's what the headlines miss:

Unprofitable every year since 2017. Stock down 84% from peak. Down 50% in 2026 alone. Founders lost $7.2B this year. Worth less than… pic.twitter.com/7XNdYvXFX2

— Paweł Huryn (@PawelHuryn) March 12, 2026

Blocks are far from the only one. Following them closely is Atlassian.

Although not as large, the cuts are still substantial. And while the cuts have partially been attributed to the AI shift, there are other factors.

One such factor mentioned by the CEO was a reorgansiation of its sales force.

I created a business on the back of Confluence, one of Atlassian’s products. They used to be famous for impressive sales figures without a sales force.

Now they acknwowledge they do need a sales force and that recent changes will actually increase it’s size.

How the tables have turned.

The outsized impact of size and culture

Regardless of the source of change or shift, I think size and culture will matter a lot in the next few years.

While size helps when tasks are routine, capital-intensive, or benefit from network effects, size hurts when the premium is on speed, creativity and innovation, and adaptability. And in the face of the shift, we all have to be on the latter side of the spectrum. Increasing the size of a certain part of your business as Atlassian are doing with sales may even be necessary.

Maybe it’s less about absolute size and more about whether the unit doing the work retains autonomy, accountability, and a clear line of sight to outcomes. Large firms that can preserve those conditions in small internal teams can compete; startups that prematurely add process and headcount lose their edge fast.

Bureaucracy adds drag. It’s important to do away with this counterprevailing evil as much as possible,

AI can act as an accelerant. It’s important to figure out how to leverage it as fast as possible, faster than your competitirs.

Keep your strategy nimble and adaptable. Enough said.