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Indeed, Glassdoor to Cut 1,300 Jobs Amid AI Shift, Memo Reveals

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Recruit Holdings, the Japanese parent company of job sites Indeed and Glassdoor, plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 1,300 employees as part of a strategic shift toward artificial intelligence, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters on Thursday. This reduction amounts to around 6% of its HR technology segment staff and primarily affects the U.S. market, targeting roles in research and development, growth, and people and sustainability teams. However, the layoffs will impact multiple functions across several countries.

While the company did not state a specific reason for the job cuts, CEO Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba emphasized the transformative impact of AI, saying, “AI is changing the world, and we must adapt by ensuring our product delivers truly great experiences for job seekers and employers.”

This move aligns with a broader trend among U.S. technology companies, including Meta and Microsoft, which have recently announced workforce reductions to focus on AI initiatives while managing slower economic growth.

In addition, Recruit plans to merge Glassdoor’s operations into Indeed. As part of this restructuring, Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong will step down effective October 1. LaFawn Davis, Indeed’s chief people and sustainability officer, will also leave on September 1, with Ayano Senaha, Recruit’s chief operating officer, succeeding her.

Recruit acquired Indeed in 2012 and Glassdoor in 2018 and currently employs around 20,000 people in its HR technology division. Earlier in 2024, Indeed revealed plans to cut 1,000 positions, following a previous reduction of approximately 2,200 jobs announced a year prior, which represented 15% of its staff.

Grammarly to Acquire Email Startup Superhuman in Strategic AI Expansion

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Grammarly has announced an agreement to acquire Superhuman, an email efficiency startup, as part of its broader strategy to build an AI-powered productivity platform and diversify its business offerings, company executives told Reuters. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Superhuman, known for its exclusive email tool and a lengthy waitlist for new users, was last valued at $825 million in 2021 and currently generates about $35 million in annual revenue. The San Francisco-based company is recognized for integrating AI features aimed at enhancing email productivity, with users reportedly sending and responding to 72% more emails per hour. The use of AI tools for composing emails on the platform has increased fivefold over the past year.

Grammarly, which recently secured $1 billion in funding from General Catalyst, has more than 40 million daily users and annual revenue exceeding $700 million. Founded in 2009, Grammarly is evolving beyond grammar correction and is considering a rebrand to reflect its expanded ambitions.

The acquisition of Superhuman follows Grammarly’s 2023 purchase of Coda, a startup that added AI-powered research, analysis, and collaboration tools to its suite. CEO Shishir Mehrotra described email as the next logical focus, noting that professionals spend roughly three hours a day in their inboxes, making email a critical communication and productivity tool.

Superhuman’s CEO Rahul Vohra will join Grammarly, along with over 100 Superhuman employees. Mehrotra emphasized that the Superhuman product, team, and brand will remain intact, continuing to serve tens of thousands of users. Vohra expressed optimism that the acquisition will provide Superhuman with greater resources to invest heavily in AI and expand into related areas such as calendars, tasks, and collaboration features.

Both leaders envision integrating Grammarly’s AI agents directly into Superhuman, creating a network of specialized AI tools that streamline workflows by pulling data from emails, documents, and other digital sources. This integration aims to reduce time spent searching for information or drafting responses.

Grammarly and Superhuman will join a competitive market for AI productivity tools, contending with established tech giants like Salesforce and numerous startups.

Apple Faces Shareholder Lawsuit Over Alleged Overstatement of AI Progress

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Apple (AAPL.O) was sued on Friday by shareholders in a proposed securities fraud class action accusing the company of overstating its progress in integrating advanced artificial intelligence into its Siri voice assistant. The lawsuit claims this misrepresentation negatively impacted iPhone sales and Apple’s stock price.

The complaint covers shareholders who experienced significant losses, potentially amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, over the year ending June 9, 2025. During that period, Apple introduced several product features and aesthetic upgrades but kept AI advancements modest.

Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment. The lawsuit names CEO Tim Cook, Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh, and former CFO Luca Maestri as defendants. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.

Shareholders, led by Eric Tucker, argue that at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024, the company implied that AI would play a major role in the iPhone 16. Apple launched “Apple Intelligence,” which was marketed as enhancing Siri’s power and user-friendliness. However, the plaintiffs contend that Apple did not have a functional prototype of AI-based Siri features and could not reasonably expect those features to be ready for the iPhone 16 launch.

The lawsuit states that the reality started to become apparent on March 7, 2025, when Apple announced delays to some Siri upgrades until 2026. This was further reinforced at the June 9 Worldwide Developers Conference when analysts expressed disappointment with Apple’s AI progress.

Since hitting a record high on December 26, 2024, Apple shares have fallen nearly 25%, erasing roughly $900 billion in market value.

The case is identified as Tucker v. Apple Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 25-05197.