This firm cut its workforce from 1000 to 120 in three years. The CEO reveals who is better placed to survive AI onslaught

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way companies hire and organise their workforces, with employees who can handle multiple responsibilities potentially gaining an advantage over those with narrowly defined skills.

Robert Vis, CEO of communications infrastructure company Bird, believes that workers who combine initiative with multidisciplinary expertise are better positioned to succeed in an AI-powered workplace.

Speaking to Business Insider in late September, Vis said the company increasingly values employees who can work independently and across different functions. His comments came after Bird announced that it had completed $450 million in debt financing led by JPMorgan, Capital One and Citi.

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The Amsterdam-founded company has reduced its workforce from more than 1,000 employees to around 120 over about three years as it automated operations and adopted a different hiring approach.

"The profile that we were very focused on was people with high agency," Vis told Business Insider.

"If you're high agency and you're full stack, then AI leverages you to basically be your best self."

AI makes multidisciplinary employees more valuable

Vis said AI tools are enabling employees to perform tasks that were traditionally divided among separate teams. Consequently, companies may increasingly favour professionals who combine technical knowledge with an understanding of products, customers and business operations.

For instance, an engineer who can write code but lacks product understanding may find it harder to succeed at Bird. The company expects employees to contribute beyond their primary technical responsibilities.

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"If you're an engineer and you're extremely good at just code but you have no product sense, that wouldn't work at Bird," Vis said.

The trend extends beyond engineering. AI tools can help employees work within established design systems and automate routine activities across customer support, sales and accounting. This allows teams to take on more responsibilities without relying as heavily on separate departments.

Vis clarified that this does not mean companies can eliminate specialist roles. Bird continues to employ professionals, including revenue accountants and security engineers, where specific expertise remains necessary.

Generalists gain ground, but specialists still matter

Bird's approach reflects a broader discussion among technology executives about the future of work. Figma CEO Dylan Field has argued that AI is encouraging generalist behaviour by blurring boundaries between product development, design and research. Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar has also highlighted the value of combining subject knowledge with technological skills.

However, the shift is not universal. Some industries, including consulting, continue to prioritise deep technical and sector-specific expertise.

At Bird, Vis said employees were evaluated on their performance, ability to work across disciplines and willingness to operate autonomously.

"If you had very high performance but you were not multidisciplinary, you would not stay," he said.

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Bird CEO cautions against AI-driven job cuts

Bird reported $165 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2025, following extensive automation.

Despite the workforce reduction, Vis argued that businesses should focus on removing repetitive tasks rather than using AI solely to justify layoffs.

"The moment you are struggling to have certain employees perform well within your environment or have a certain amount of output, then I think AI is a good tool to automate more of this," he said.