The news: Shopify is setting AI use as a baseline expectation for employees and relying on the technology to keep its headcount flat.
In a company memo CEO Tobi Lütke shared on X, he stated that questions about AI usage will be added to performance and peer reviews and that teams need to prove a job can’t be done by AI before asking for more resources or headcount.
Why so strict? Lütke said prior AI initiatives have been “too much of a suggestion” and it’s now a core expectation. “I don't think it’s feasible to opt out of learning the skill of applying AI in your craft; you are welcome to try, (but) I cannot see this working out today, and definitely not tomorrow.”