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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah apologized after commenters criticized a LinkedIn message thanking employees on the day the company announced layoffs. Shah said his original post failed to acknowledge the pain and uncertainty of losing a job. The cuts affected about 660 workers, or roughly 7% of HubSpot’s global workforce, according to the Boston Business Journal.
What Dharmesh Shah posted
Shah’s original LinkedIn message said: “My personal thanks to all of the people that HubSpot parted ways with today. You helped make HubSpot the company it is. Best wishes with the next chapter.”
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The post was intended as a public expression of gratitude to people Shah said he had also spoken with individually. But commenters questioned whether thanking employees immediately after they were dismissed recognized what they were experiencing in that moment.
The Boston Business Journal described some reactions as calling the message cold, impersonal or out of touch. Those descriptions reflect comments reported by the newspaper, not a measurement of every reader’s view.
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How Shah changed the post
Shah added an apology to the post, writing: “My original post was curt and insensitive. I’m sincerely sorry. I meant to express gratitude publicly (vs. the direct interactions I’ve had individually) to those who lost their jobs, but failed to acknowledge the pain and uncertainty of being laid off. As a co-founder, I should have showed the people who helped build HubSpot more care and empathy.”
The edited message identifies the specific omission Shah believed he made: he expressed appreciation without first recognizing the emotional and practical consequences of being laid off. The available reporting establishes an apology, but not whether it changed the experience or outlook of the affected employees.
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How many HubSpot employees were laid off?
| Measure | Reported figure | Attribution and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Workers affected | About 660 | Boston Business Journal report published October 12, 2026 |
| Share of global workforce | Roughly 7% | Boston Business Journal description of the cuts |
HubSpot announced the reductions the previous week. The newspaper reported that the reorganization involved a shift from primarily building software toward delivering customer outcomes with artificial intelligence.
Were the layoffs because of AI?
The reported strategy context involved AI, but the available account does not support saying that AI directly caused the job cuts. In an employee email quoted by the Boston Business Journal, HubSpot CEO Yamini Rangan said the reorganization was “not driven by AI-related efficiencies.”
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Those statements describe two different things. The company’s strategic direction was reported as incorporating AI into how it delivers customer outcomes, while Rangan’s caveat addressed whether efficiency gains from AI were the reason for the layoffs. Based on the quoted material, the safest description is that HubSpot was reorganizing around an AI-related strategy while its CEO said AI efficiencies were not the driver.
Who is Dharmesh Shah?
Shah co-founded HubSpot with Brian Halligan in 2006 and serves as the company’s chief technology officer. His senior leadership role shaped how readers interpreted the message: the post came from a co-founder addressing people who had helped build the company and had just lost their jobs.
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What is confirmed about the company’s response?
The Boston Business Journal reported that Shah and HubSpot did not respond to separate requests for comment on Monday. The documented public response in the available account is Shah’s edited LinkedIn post and apology. There is no established evidence here of a broader company-wide statement or of any change to the layoffs themselves.
Why the wording drew criticism
The original message combined thanks and good wishes but did not mention severance, uncertainty, grief or the disruption associated with losing employment. Posted on the day of the cuts, that omission led some commenters to view the tone as too detached for the circumstances. Shah’s revision addressed that gap directly by naming the “pain and uncertainty” of being laid off and acknowledging a responsibility to show more care.
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The episode illustrates why timing and acknowledgment matter in executive communication about layoffs. Appreciation for departing employees can be sincere, but a message that starts with gratitude without recognizing the loss may be received differently than intended—especially when it comes from a founder.
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