Elastic lays off 7% of employees

Elastic announced a 7% workforce reduction as part of an organizational restructuring aimed at accelerating innovation and operating more efficiently in response to rapid advances in AI and automation. CEO Ash Kulkarni stated the company is simplifying its structure with fewer management layers while continuing to invest in customer-facing sales and engineering roles, and expects overall headcount to grow year-over-year this fiscal year. The restructuring is framed as positioning the company to lead in the evolving technology landscape rather than a retreat from growth.