News Summary

Bird, a cloud communication service formerly known as MessageBird, has announced a strategic realignment resulting in the layoff of 120 employees, which accounts for roughly one-third of its workforce. The Amsterdam-based startup is repositioning its global operations to better align with its expanding customer base in the Americas and Asia, positioning teams closer to customers’ time zones and cultural contexts. This strategic shift comes in the wake of the company’s efforts to address the growing adoption of AI, which has contributed to the reduction of roles. Bird’s founder and CEO, Robert Vis, emphasized that this move is not a cost-reduction exercise, as the company’s financials remain strong. Instead, the realignment aims to return Bird to a more agile and focused operational model. Bird, which raised $800 million in a Series C extension in 2021, counts major companies like Meta, PayPal, Square, and Uber among its key customers.