We’re Hiring in Response to AI, Not Cutting

Industry leaders, including Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have recently predicted that AI will soon take over most white-collar jobs — but one tech CEO says they’re hiring instead.

On an episode of “Lenny’s Podcast” that aired on Thursday, Figma CEO Dylan Field, 33, says that rather than cutting jobs because of AI, Figma is actually growing its team. In every conversation, Field is “asking about AI efficiency” and trying to determine what internal tools Figma can build to make itself more efficient. At the end of the day, AI presents an opportunity for the company “to grow,” not to cut back, he says.

“I’m going through the whole planning process on headcount right now,” Field said on the podcast. “For the most part, across the company, we’re adding roles.”

Related: AI Could Cause 99% of All Workers to Be Unemployed in the Next Five Years, Says Computer Science Professor

LinkedIn shows that Figma is advertising for 158 open positions in the U.S. as of press time, including openings for a software engineer of AI infrastructure and a core product strategy researcher. The company has a 1,600-person workforce.

Field also said on the podcast that AI is “not coming” for anyone’s job and workers should focus on how they will “adapt” to the technology instead of worrying about mass firings.

“I think it’s pretty encouraging, actually, that folks understand viscerally that this is not coming for you,” Field said on an episode of “Lenny’s Podcast” that aired on Thursday. “I think that the next thing will be, as tools improve, as models improve, how do you improve and adapt?”

Field founded Figma, a tech company that focuses on real-time collaboration in design, in 2012. The company went public earlier this year, debuting on the New York Stock Exchange. Figma has a market capitalization of over $28 billion at the time of writing, with more than 13 million monthly users.

In Figma’s recent survey of over a thousand designers, product managers, researchers, and other roles, nearly 60% of respondents in product-focused positions reported spending more time on high-value work due to AI, and almost 70% said the technology made them more productive.

Related: These Fields Are Losing the Most Entry-Level Jobs to AI, According to a New Stanford Study

Only 17% of designers viewed AI as a threat to their jobs, the survey found. The remaining majority, 83%, either did not see AI as threatening or saw it as benefiting their workflow and productivity.

“You can either see AI as an opportunity for your company to grow and do more, or you can look at it as a cost-cutting efficiency, but I think the growth part is way more exciting,” Field said on the podcast. “It’ll be interesting to see how people adapt and grow.”

Last month, Figma announced financial results for its second quarter ending June 30, reporting “record revenue” of $249.6 million, a 41% year-over-year increase. The company will announce its third-quarter financial results on Nov. 5.

Related: AI Is Going to ‘Replace Everybody’ in Several Fields, According to the ‘Godfather of AI.’ Here’s Who He Says Should Be ‘Terrified.’

Industry leaders, including Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have recently predicted that AI will soon take over most white-collar jobs — but one tech CEO says they’re hiring instead.

On an episode of “Lenny’s Podcast” that aired on Thursday, Figma CEO Dylan Field, 33, says that rather than cutting jobs because of AI, Figma is actually growing its team. In every conversation, Field is “asking about AI efficiency” and trying to determine what internal tools Figma can build to make itself more efficient. At the end of the day, AI presents an opportunity for the company “to grow,” not to cut back, he says.

“I’m going through the whole planning process on headcount right now,” Field said on the podcast. “For the most part, across the company, we’re adding roles.”