Major MI Company Announces Mass Layoff As It Moves Toward AI

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A major Michigan financial technology and insurance company is laying off thousands of workers as it moves toward artificial intelligence technology.

Grand Rapids-based Acrisure will lay off 2,250 employees (11 percent of the company's total workforce) in phases through 2027, according to a letter sent to employees by CEO Greg Williams.

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Williams said the affected workers will receive comprehensive severance, extended benefits and outplacement support.

"This decision affects colleagues who have contributed meaningfully to building Acrisure, and was not taken lightly," Williams said. "It was driven by how work must evolve as we build the company we need for the future."

The layoffs, which Acrisure first warned about last October, will primarily affect U.S. accounting employees, including those in west Michigan.

Williams said advancements in technology and AI are changing how businesses operate.

"We need to increase revenue growth through greater connectivity, tighter alignment, and continued investment in technology," Williams said. "This next chapter requires us to continue advancing Acrisure as a technology-enabled company. Our future is not merely about doing the same work in a different structure ... it’s about changing how work gets done."

Williams said the company will use people to collaborate with the tech systems to reduce manual work and create faster, more consistent outcomes. He said the new strategy will make it easier for the company to serve clients and support one another.

"Leveraging technology must be the core of how we operate, how we grow, and how we deliver value to clients every day," Williams said.

Acrisure was founded in 2005 and has 19,000 employees globally. Roughly 2,000 of those jobs are in Michigan.

The company also holds the naming rights to multiple venues in Michigan and across the nation, including the home stadium of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and a new riverfront amphitheater in Grand Rapids.