Cloudflare Inc (NYSE:NET) CEO Matthew Prince called the company's name not a great name while the firm undergoes major AI-driven restructuring and cuts more than 1,100 jobs.
Cloudflare Name Criticism
Prince responded to an X user who called the company's name "not good" and "not aspirational," agreeing with the criticism in a candid post.
"I’d add: too long, hard for English speakers to say Cluh and Fluh next to each other so becomes Cloudfare, multiple ways to spell flare/flair," Prince wrote.
He added that the current name was still preferable to his original idea, "Project Web Wall," joking that it would have been a "nightmare" for late broadcaster Barbara Walters to pronounce.
Cloudflare Cuts 1,100 Jobs
Cloudflare cut roughly 20% of its global workforce, eliminating more than 1,100 jobs as part of a major internal restructuring centered on artificial intelligence.
Prince said the layoffs were not driven by financial pressure or employee performance, but by a shift toward an "agentic AI-first" operating model.
He said the company had redesigned its structure after internal AI usage surged sharply, changing how work was performed across teams.
The job cuts marked one of the largest workforce reductions in the company's history, even as Cloudflare continued to report strong revenue growth.
The company said the move reflected increased reliance on AI tools that reduced the need for certain support functions.
Cloudflare said the restructuring was intended to improve efficiency and align the organization with a rapidly evolving AI-driven operating environment.
AI Drives Layoffs In Tech, Shortages In Healthcare
AI is reshaping industries in different ways, driving layoffs at major tech firms while failing to eliminate jobs in specialized medical fields.
Earlier, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg said rising AI investment costs were forcing workforce reductions, with the company expected to cut about 10% of its staff as it reallocates spending toward infrastructure.
Billionaire Mark Cuban warned that companies risked falling behind if leaders failed to understand AI, urging workers and executives to continuously build AI skills and adapt to rapid change.
In contrast, radiology, once predicted to be replaced by AI, has instead seen a worker shortage and rising salaries.
More than 4,000 U.S. positions were unfilled by early 2025, with strong demand pushing average pay to record levels, as experts said the job proved more complex than early AI forecasts assumed.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Piotr Swat / Shutterstock
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