The most popular CSS framework just fired 75% of their engineers. AI is to blame.
If you've ever vibe coded anything, you're probably using Tailwind right now and don't even know it. When Claude builds you a landing page, that's Tailwind. When Cursor autocompletes your styles, that's Tailwind.
Here's where it gets weird.
The Paradox Nobody Expected
Tailwind's npm downloads went from 6 million to 32 million this year. That's 5x more popular.
But their revenue? Down 80%. Their docs traffic? Down 40% from 2023. Their engineering team? Went from four people to one.
AI learned Tailwind so well, nobody needs to learn it anymore.
The Open Source Trap
Tailwind CSS is free. Always has been. The way they pay their team is through Tailwind Plus, beautifully designed templates and UI kits. Buy once, use forever.
The only way people find out about these paid products is through the documentation. That's their entire funnel.
But here's the thing. AI doesn't visit docs.
You don't visit docs anymore either. And now you've got shadcn UI offering similar stuff for free. Who's buying templates when Claude can generate a decent hero section in three seconds?
Adam's Brutal Honesty
Then Adam did something most founders never do. He told the truth.
He posted a 33-minute voice recording while walking through the snow in Ontario. Just talking to his phone. He called it a "boiling frog" situation. Revenue had been declining so slowly for so long that he didn't notice until he finally ran the numbers over the holidays.
The forecast showed that in about six months, they wouldn't be able to make payroll. So he made the call. Laid off three of his four engineers now so he could give them proper severance instead of waiting until the money ran out.
He wrote this on GitHub:
This Isn't Just Tailwind
Vjeux, the guy behind React Native, Prettier, and Excalidraw, said he has the exact same problem. Prettier is used by basically everyone, but funding proper maintenance has been a constant struggle.
Jeffrey from Laracasts had to do layoffs the same week. And badlogicgames tweeted something that got over a million views: "Everything is going to be fucked real soon."
Here's the pattern. AI companies are making billions. The open source projects they trained on? The ones their products literally can't function without? They're dying. Not because they're failing. Because they're too successful.
Tailwind is the first domino. It won't be the last.
What You Can Do
Since this news broke, donations have been pouring in. The community is rallying. People are signing up for Tailwind Plus, buying the Refactoring UI book, becoming sponsors.
If you use Tailwind, and statistically you probably do, here's what you can do:
Buy the Refactoring UI book if you haven't
Check Tailwind Plus if your team needs templates
Look at your other dependencies and see who else is struggling
The tools you rely on are built by people who need to eat. That's the whole thing.
Reply to this email: Should AI companies pay royalties to open source projects they trained on? Reply YES or NO.
I'm genuinely curious where you stand on this.
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Until next time,
Steve Oak