Palo Alto Networks CEO Says 90 Percent of Employees Lack AI Skills as Company Adds Over 5,000 Hires

Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora said 90 percent of enterprise employees are not AI savvy and that no training course exists to address the gap at his firm. Business Insider reported that Arora made the comments during a recent episode of the 20VC podcast.

He said the 21,000 employees at the cybersecurity company, which has a market capitalization exceeding $235 billion, must learn independently.

Arora stated the company is hiring only technical roles from hackathons. He projected that within 12 months the approach could transform 20 to 25 percent of the team and that three years would yield enough AI-savvy staff. The company added 5,423 employees from the end of fiscal 2025 to the third quarter of 2026, according to its most recent 10-Q filing.

Arora said Palo Alto Networks is using natural attrition rather than mass layoffs to replace workers. Arora referenced Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Block CEO Jack Dorsey as examples of leaders who reduced headcount by 30 to 40 percent. Block laid off more than 4,000 workers in February 2026, nearly half its workforce.

Coinbase cut 14 percent of its staff, or about 700 roles, in May 2026. Arora questioned the need for 400 to 600 people in marketing when frontier AI models can be trained on a company's strategies and voice. He said the firm currently has 600 employees in that department.

Arora stated that in the next three years companies will probably have half the number of people in general and administrative roles such as marketing, HR, and finance.