Acrisure to Cut About 2,250 Jobs, 11% of Its Workforce, Citing AI, as Broker Growth Slows

Acrisure, one of the largest insurance brokers in the United States, is cutting about 2,250 jobs and attributing the change to artificial intelligence and digital platforms. The decision was set out in a memo from chief executive Greg Williams, reported by Insurance Journal on May 22, 2026. This article summarises that report. An earlier version of this article gave a workforce of 19,000 as a fact from the company, a valuation above $30 billion, a revenue figure near $5 billion and an organic growth rate of 5.9% for US retail brokers. Only the 19,000 figure, drawn from the company's website, and the $2.8 billion property and casualty revenue appear in the Insurance Journal article, so the other figures have been removed. Acrisure did not immediately respond to the publication's request for comment.

The numbers and timing are as follows. About 2,250 employees will leave the company by the end of 2027, which is roughly 11% of headcount, and the majority are in the United States. Acrisure has about 19,000 team members according to its website. Layoffs started on May 21 and will continue in phases into 2027. This is not the first round. In October 2025, Acrisure announced 400 layoffs in its accounting workforce and cited technology and AI advances at that time too. The two announcements show a pattern of using automation to reduce back-office roles.

Williams's memo explains the reasoning. He said Acrisure is entering what he called a new phase of execution. Technology, AI and digital platforms are changing how businesses operate and how clients expect to be served, he wrote, and the company made its first scaled AI investment in 2020. Going forward, Acrisure will combine human expertise with technology platforms, use AI and automation to reduce manual work, and build digital capacity for clients. He described the biggest risk as not acting decisively enough and seeking comfort in the way things used to be. He also said North American insurance operations would be organised more deliberately around lines of business.

The company is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is backed by private equity. It ranked third in Insurance Journal's 2025 list of the Top 100 Independent Property/Casualty Agencies, with about $2.8 billion in property and casualty revenue. Insurance brokers sell policies on behalf of customers and earn commissions or fees. Over the last decade, private equity funds have bought many brokers and combined them, expecting steady growth in commissions as insurance prices rose.

An industry observer in the article, Kevin Stipe, chief executive of the consultancy Reagan, explained why this is happening now. Private equity models generally depend on high growth and acquisitions. Citing S&P Global, he said Acrisure's North American organic growth, which is growth from existing businesses without counting acquisitions, was only about 1% to 2% last year. Because Acrisure carries debt, he said, it is under more pressure to address profit margins than firms without debt, and it has to respond faster and more strongly. He saw the cuts as part of a broader trend of slowing growth for brokers.

That trend has a clear cause. Commission income is linked to premium levels. When insurance prices rise quickly, brokers grow even without winning new customers. In 2025 and 2026, prices in many commercial lines have been flat or falling, as other articles in this series show, for example the softening of specialty rates and falling property catastrophe reinsurance prices. With less help from price increases, brokers have to find growth elsewhere or lower costs.

What does the move say about AI and jobs in insurance? Brokerage and insurance operations include many tasks such as processing certificates, handling renewals and entering data, which technology can automate. Acrisure's memo is one of the clearest statements by a major insurance employer that AI is a reason for job cuts. Other industry leaders have been more cautious. For example, the head of the broker Marsh, discussing artificial intelligence on a recent call, focused on how AI risks should be insured and not on staffing. It is too early to know how far automation will reduce employment in the industry, and how many new roles will be created in data, risk analysis and client advisory work.

What should clients expect? In principle, automation can speed up service and lower costs, but clients may notice changes in who handles their accounts. Businesses that rely on a broker should ask how service levels will be maintained and who their contacts will be. For employees across the industry, the story signals the need for skills that are harder to automate, such as complex risk advice and relationship management.

The report does not say how the cuts will be spread across functions or locations, what severance will be provided, or what savings Acrisure expects. Those details, and any response from the company, will determine how the restructuring is judged.