The cybersecurity world just got another wake-up call. Deepwatch, a security company known for its AI-powered detection and response platform, has laid off roughly 80 employees out of its 250-person team. The company says the move is about “accelerating investments in AI and automation.”
For many in the field, it’s a sign of a bigger shift happening across the cybersecurity industry — one where traditional analyst-heavy teams are giving way to AI-driven platforms that promise faster detection and fewer human bottlenecks.
The story behind the layoffs
In an email to TechCrunch, Deepwatch CEO John DiLullo explained that the company is “aligning our organization to accelerate our significant investments in AI and automation.”
Employees inside the company painted a more complicated picture. One current staffer told TechCrunch that the layoffs “feel like an AI reshuffle more than a clear product plan.” The move comes as Deepwatch develops new “agentic AI” features that supposedly make its security platform more autonomous though insiders say details are still unclear.
Eight former employees have already announced their departures on LinkedIn. The total reduction, between 60 and 80 workers, represents a major downsizing for a company that had been growing steadily over the last few years.
A broader cybersecurity reset
Deepwatch isn’t alone. 2025 has seen a string of cybersecurity layoffs, even as demand for threat defense keeps rising.
Earlier this year, CrowdStrike cut about 5% of its workforce, despite posting record revenue and cash flow. Other firms, including Deep Instinct, Otorio, ActiveFence, SkyBox Security, and Sophos, have also reduced headcount.
At first glance, that might sound like an industry contraction. But the deeper story is a realignment. Security platforms are increasingly being rebuilt with AI automation at the core, aiming to do what used to require entire SOC teams.
The pitch is simple: AI models can flag anomalies faster, handle repetitive triage work, and even automate response playbooks. That means fewer humans, more software, and a new kind of efficiency that’s starting to define the next phase of cybersecurity.
What it means for the future of cybersecurity work
The shift comes with big questions for cybersecurity professionals. What happens when AI becomes the analyst?
For now, most companies still rely on human oversight, but the ratio is changing. Fewer people are being hired to monitor dashboards. More are being asked to train AI models, review outputs, and handle only the complex or ambiguous cases.
In the near future, the cybersecurity job market may look less like traditional operations centers and more like data science and model management teams. The people who stay will be those who understand both domains: security and machine learning.
This mirrors what’s happening in other tech sectors, where AI adoption doesn’t eliminate roles immediately it reshapes them.
The bigger picture
If this sounds familiar, it’s because this same pattern has played out before, when cloud automation replaced on-prem infrastructure jobs, and when DevOps merged development and operations.
The cybersecurity industry is now undergoing its own version of that shift. Deepwatch’s layoffs aren’t an isolated event; they’re a preview of what happens when security meets automation at scale.
Over the next few years, expect more platforms that market themselves as “AI-native,” fewer manual SOC workflows, and a growing divide between traditional analysts and the next generation of cyber-AI engineers.
Related Laterstack Reads
If you want to go deeper on how AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape, check out these related Laterstack stories: