Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, May 7: Freshworks’ decision to lay off around 500 employees globally as part of an AI-led restructuring has sparked anxiety among software testing and quality assurance (QA) professionals, with many fearing that artificial intelligence could steadily replace traditional testing roles across the tech industry.

According to reports, Freshworks CEO Dennis Woodside informed employees about the layoffs in an internal letter dated May 6, stating that the company was restructuring operations to move faster in the AI era.

“Today, I have some difficult news to share. To accelerate our biggest growth drivers and move faster in the AI era, we are realigning our global workforce,” Woodside wrote.

“As a result, we are reducing our global workforce by approximately 11% (~500 employees). We did not make this decision lightly, as this means we will be saying goodbye to many talented colleagues and friends,” he added.

The announcement triggered strong reactions online, especially among QA professionals who believe their roles are increasingly vulnerable to AI-driven automation tools and agentic testing workflows.

Speaking anonymously to media outlets, one software tester said that QA teams are often the first to be impacted during restructuring exercises.

“Both I and the other QA professionals have been let go this week. QA is always the first hit,” the employee reportedly said, adding that rapidly changing technology and long-term work on legacy systems had made career transitions increasingly difficult.

Another QA professional noted that management teams now increasingly assess staffing ratios between developers and testers, making smaller QA teams more vulnerable during cost-cutting exercises.

A former employee allegedly affected by AI-based testing implementation said companies may be overestimating AI’s current capabilities.

“I understand that with AI, testing could become faster and more efficient. But they fired all QAs at once. Good luck relying fully on developers to thoroughly test things even with AI,” the employee said.

Several Freshworks employees and technology professionals also shared concerns on social media and online forums, claiming that a significant number of QA staff were among those impacted.
On Reddit, users questioned whether companies were moving too aggressively towards automation without sufficient human oversight.

One user wrote that companies may eventually need to rehire QA professionals once product quality declines and customer complaints increase.

Another user stated that while AI tools can accelerate automation scripting and test generation, they still require extensive human review because the systems continue to miss obvious issues during testing workflows.

Some users also expressed concern over shrinking career opportunities in QA, with one commenter claiming that many professionals are either leaving the field due to layoffs or being forced to accept lower salaries.

Freshworks stated that employees in North America and India would receive official communication regarding job impacts shortly after the announcement, while employees in other regions would be informed in accordance with local regulations.

Explaining the rationale behind the restructuring, Woodside said the company was witnessing strong momentum in areas such as Employee Experience (EX), Customer Experience (CX) and AI-driven services.

“While our business is performing well, the pace of the AI era and recent internal changes have changed how we need to operate,” he wrote.

The CEO added that the restructuring was intended to ensure that employees remain focused on the company’s long-term growth strategy centred around AI, EX and CX solutions.

The layoffs come amid a broader trend across the global technology sector, where companies are increasingly integrating AI tools into coding, customer support, testing and workflow automation, raising wider concerns about the future of several traditional tech roles.