NiCE to cut about 500 jobs, 5% of its workforce, citing AI productivity gains
The Israeli-founded software company confirmed the reduction alongside its third-quarter results. It has not said how many jobs will go in Israel or the United States, reversing a promise its chief executive made in July.
NiCE said on November 4 that it expects to reduce its global workforce by approximately 5%, or about 500 of its roughly 10,000 employees, as part of a restructuring announced alongside its third-quarter results. The cuts were first reported by CTech on November 3.
In its press release, NiCE said it was streamlining its organization, reducing management layers and simplifying decision-making, while strengthening its partner-led go-to-market and delivery capabilities. The changes are meant to drive greater efficiency while enabling continued investment in what the company calls its key growth priorities, including CX AI innovation, customer delivery and go-to-market capabilities. NiCE expects to record pre-tax restructuring charges of approximately $15–20 million, primarily in the fourth quarter of 2026, excluded from its non-GAAP results.
On the company's third-quarter earnings call, chief executive Scott Russell gave a more detailed account, CTech reported. Russell said the review had targeted slower-growing parts of the business, but also reached research and development, where he said AI tools were allowing teams to increase productivity materially. He added that the company was removing layers of management and span of control to operate more nimbly. Chief financial officer Beth Gaspich said the cuts would be concentrated primarily in product development, as well as go-to-market operations, customer support and services.
The announcement reverses what Russell told CTech in July, when he was asked whether NiCE planned to reduce headcount as AI adoption accelerated. “Our plan is to grow, not shrink. We have no plans to reduce headcount,” he said at the time, arguing that AI would take over repetitive tasks and allow employees to focus on higher-value work. Asked specifically about Israel, where NiCE then employed about 1,000 people, or around 10% of its workforce, he said: “We have no plans to reduce our workforce in Israel.”
NiCE has not disclosed how the 500 cuts will be distributed by country. It has not said how many employees in Israel, if any, will be affected, or how many will be affected in the United States, where it also has a headquarters in Hoboken, New Jersey. CTech's first report said estimates suggested the layoffs would have little impact on the company's operations in Israel, but that was an estimate, not a company disclosure. A check of this site's WARN data found no filings under the NiCE name.
The restructuring comes as NiCE reshapes its business around AI. Its share price has fallen 17% over the past year, and CTech put its market value at approximately $6.5 billion, well below the roughly $20 billion peak it reached during the Covid-19 pandemic. The company is seeking to sell its Actimize division while expanding its AI capabilities through the acquisition of a German AI-agent startup, reported by CTech at about $1 billion. Customers delayed signing contracts during the first half of 2026, including some of its largest clients, while they assessed how the AI market would develop, and the company expects signings to accelerate in the second half of the year.
Financially, the quarter was mixed. Third-quarter revenue rose 8.0% year over year to $790.7 million, and AI annual recurring revenue increased 46% to $392 million. But cloud revenue growth remained below the level management wants to achieve, and profitability weakened on a GAAP basis: net income fell to $95.1 million from $144.9 million a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share fell to $1.60 from $2.29. For the full year, NiCE reiterated revenue guidance of $3,170–3,190 million, 8.0% growth at the midpoint, and raised its non-GAAP earnings-per-share guidance to $11.12–11.32.
NiCE was founded in Israel in 1986 and is headquartered in both Ra'anana, Israel, and Hoboken, New Jersey. It sells customer-experience software, including its CXone platform, to about 25,000 clients worldwide, including 85% of the Fortune 500, CTech reported, naming Marriott, Lidl, Lufthansa and Disney among its customers. Russell became chief executive in January 2025.
What is still unknown: which countries and teams bear the largest share of the cuts, when the affected employees will leave, what support they will receive, and whether any US site reaches the threshold that would require a WARN notice.