Shopify has conducted quiet layoffs in recent weeks. Big AI plans have workers worried a larger cut is on the way.

• Shopify workers are worried about another mass layoff.
• The company has been quietly laying off workers in recent weeks.
• Layoff rumors have largely centered on its Support division, which is being impacted by AI.

Shopify employees are once again bracing for mass layoffs.

Only three months after the Canadian e-commerce behemoth laid off 20% of its workforce and sold its logistics division, rumors are flying that more layoffs are on the way.

Shopify has quietly laid off a number of employees in recent weeks, with layoffs affecting departments as diverse as customer service, engineering, and marketing. Many workers in Ireland were laid off earlier in July as well.

The precise timing of any potential layoff is unknown. Shopify will report earnings for the second quarter after the markets close on Wednesday.

Representatives from the company did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Much of the speculation about potential layoffs has focused on Shopify’s Support organization, which is in charge of troubleshooting issues for the company’s millions of merchants. Last year, Shopify began using more third-party vendors, many of whom were based in the Philippines, to handle customer support inquiries. It declared a “Code Yellow” for the Support division in March, claiming that customer service had “deteriorated beyond acceptable ranges.”

Shopify recently shared details about its plans to incorporate AI into more of its customer-support experience internally.

During a recent town hall, executives stated that the goal is to make it easier for merchants to get answers to simple questions without involving Shopify employees unless absolutely necessary. This may imply that the overall workload of support advisors decreases, but the time spent on each case increases.

Employees were alarmed by the tone of the updates. One Support employee told Insider that after watching the town hall, they felt they would be fired.

During the town hall’s question-and-answer session, an employee asked how support advisors could be assured that their jobs are safe. The first round of layoffs at Shopify occurred in July of last year, and the company conducted a second round of layoffs in May. The second round affected 20% of Shopify’s workforce, or over 2,000 people.

Executives encouraged employees to improve their skills in response to the question.

“To be fair, I don’t think any technology company — or any company, for that matter — would be able to guarantee that everyone will have jobs, or that every single job will be completely safe.” “I think all of us, including myself, are constantly proving ourselves in our jobs every single day,” Clovis Cuqui, Shopify’s vice president of merchant acceleration, said during the town hall, a recording of which Insider reviewed.

“My encouragement here is always to lean in and figure out how else each and every one of us can add value,” he said.