Vendasta cuts 20 jobs in Saskatoon as company pivots to AI

Vendasta has laid off 20 workers in the latest round of cuts at the tech firm. Laura Woodward tells us why.

Vendasta has confirmed layoffs at its Saskatoon office.

The tech company said 20 employees — about three per cent of its workforce — have been let go.

Most of the affected jobs were in content creation.

In a statement to CTV News, Vendasta said the software market is being reshaped by artificial intelligence.

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The company said the cuts are part of its strategy to adapt and remain profitable.

Devan Mescall, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said white-collar jobs are expected to be most impacted by AI advancements.

“Three per cent doesn’t sound like a lot, but those are 20 individuals. In a community like ours where everybody knows everybody, I think those ripples are felt a bit broader,” Mescall said.

Statistics Canada estimates about 60 per cent of Canadian workers are in jobs highly exposed to AI-related transformation.

“Rather than resisting, I think it’s a matter of embracing it and upskilling, and trying to figure out how you can use these new tools to do your job better,” Mescall said.

Nikola Gradojevic, Fidelity Chair in Finance and a professor at the University of Guelph, said AI is not yet at the level where it can replace humans on a mass scale.

“You can replace humans with AI, it’s going to be much cheaper, but the problem is, will the quality of your service deteriorate as a result?” Gradojevic said.

He points to his own experience with bank chatbots — often needing a human in the end.

“I’m very much in support of AI, but we need to introduce it step-by-step. We cannot have huge leaps,” he said.

“It’s too much hype. When I see too much hype, I become suspicious.”

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