Dive Brief:
- As part of its global restructuring plan, Pinterest plans to cut less than 15% of its workforce and reduce its office space, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- The company is trimming its staff and office footprint to reallocate resources toward AI-focused positions and teams, prioritize AI-driven products and capabilities, and shift its sales and go-to-market strategy.
- The move is expected to cost Pinterest between $35 million and $45 million. The company anticipates completing the plan Sept. 30, pending “local law and consultation requirements.”
Dive Insight:
Similar to a recent layoff round by Amazon, Pinterest is reducing its employee headcount amid a broader AI push. As the company lays off some of its staff in the short term, it noted in its SEC filing that it “plans to reinvest in key development areas and strategic opportunities.”
In recent months, the company has harnessed AI and its own data to make its platform more intuitive for shoppers. Last September, the company announced its “where-to-buy” links on image ads, which connect users to retailers with products in stock. Through its preliminary testing, the company found that its where-to-buy links catalyzed “higher user engagement and stronger performance compared to campaigns using external where-to-buy landing pages.”
The following month, Pinterest debuted multiple AI-powered product discovery features. While the “Make it yours” tab provides fashion and home content and product recommendations, the “more ideas” tab recommends similar pins in other categories, such as beauty and art. The company also debuted its “Styled for you” feature, which uses AI-driven fashion collages from saved pins to help shoppers create and purchase new looks.
During the 2025 holiday season, Pinterest also leaned into its internal data to curate gift guides for shoppers. The company tapped experts, celebrities and internal data to create gift guides across categories such as home, fashion, tech and beauty. The company identified an uptick in search queries such as “budget-friendly gifts for boyfriend,” and used its search data, click and shopping data to generate suggestions for users seeking gift ideas.
