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Tinder owner Match Group is slowing hiring to pay for its increased use of AI tools

Published

6 months ago

May 6, 2026

You might think the big story out of Match Group’s first-quarter earnings is Tinder’s turnaround. The dating app’s revenue is slightly up again after quarter-after-quarter of declines.

But we’d like to point to a comment the chief financial officer made about how the company is slowing its hiring right now because it needs more money to pay for AI tools for its employees.

Ah, yes, the good ol’ “let’s blame AI” strategy!

While speaking to analysts on the first-quarter earnings call, Match Group CFO Steven Bailey talked about how the dating app giant was investing in AI technology for internal use at the company — as well as how Match was paying for it.

“We’re making a big push around AI enablement. We’re giving every employee in the company access to all the cutting-edge tools. We’re giving them the training they need to succeed. We’re setting expectations. We really want to become an AI-native company,” Bailey said.

“We think it’s a huge opportunity. But these tools cost a lot of money, as I’m sure you know, and so the way we’re helping to pay for that is by slowing our hiring plans for the rest of the year,” he added.

The company assured investors that the impact would be cost-neutral, as the slowed hiring and lower headcount would make up for the increased software expenses. Plus, Match Group is betting that the increased productivity from employees’ use of AI will ultimately increase revenue growth, the number-cruncher explained.

While on the surface, this looks like another example of AI taking people’s jobs — in this case, forcing a company to lower its number of open positions — there’s likely more nuance to this story.

Let’s keep in mind that Match Group’s flagship app, Tinder, has been struggling in recent years. This quarter may be the start of a turnaround, as monthly active users declined by 7% in March compared with the far-steeper 10% drop a year ago. Tinder registrations also grew for the first time since 2024, but by a mere 1%, as Bloomberg pointed out.

This is perhaps a positive sign for Tinder. Or it might be a brief blip driven by users’ curiosity around various product improvements and new features, like IRL events. Time will tell.

Dating meets a generational shift

Match Group remains a company that has to work to squeeze more money out of an oft-dwindling, less active user base — which, to the company’s credit, it did exactly that. Match’s revenue was $864 million in the first quarter, up 4% year-over-year. However, its next-quarter estimates are coming in lower — around $850-$860 million, down 2% to flat year-over-year.

All these struggles come after many months of what appears to be a growing disinterest in the use of dating apps by younger people. This generational shift sees people opting to meet up in real-life, perhaps by pursuing an interest, like running, book clubs, or a hobby that connects them with other people, which then, in turn, expands their network, increasing their chance of meeting someone new.

The trend coincides with a resurgence of nostalgic tech, like digital cameras, flip phones, boomboxes, and even landlines, signaling a generation that’s feeling burned out by always-on connectivity and looking for analog pleasures.

Match Group is aware of this significant shift and says it’s pivoting to address the challenge by increasing the number of its own IRL events.

“Gen Z desperately wants to connect. They know they want to meet new people. They just want to do it in a low-pressure, low-stakes way that doesn’t feel like a job interview,” Match’s CFO Rascoff told investors on the call. “Traditional dating apps are very highly structured and can be intimidating to a user under 30. So, I think the growth of these alternative ways to meet new people speaks to how Gen Z is trying to find lower-pressure ways to connect.”

“We’ve obviously adapted our roadmap to this reality,” he said.

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Related Topics:group hiring increased Match owner pay slowing Tinder tools

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2027: Bauchi mosque removes Imam over campaign for Tinubu

Published

2 hours ago

October 22, 2026

PlateauReports

imam

The management committee of Masjid Abdullahi Bin Zubbair in Madina Quarters, Bauchi State, has removed its Imam, Dahiru Abubakar.

The development followed allegations that he used sermons to campaign for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

This is even as the committee also rejected an alleged proposal by the Imam to rename the mosque after Tinubu.

According to Daily Trust, the Imam's removal was confirmed by Abubakar Jibrin, committee chairman.

Jibrin claimed that the Imam had repeatedly been warned against engaging in political activities within the mosque.

According to the report, the Imam had used sermons after obligatory prayers to defend Tinubu’s administration.

He was accused of telling worshippers that President Tinubu wasn't responsible for the country’s insecurity and deserved another term.

The committee decided to remove the Imam after he repeated the remarks following the early morning Subhi prayer on Sunday.

Jibrin said the committee’s concerns also included the Imam’s alleged practice of gathering people inside and in front of the mosque to discuss politics.

“We have warned him not once or twice but many times, but he didn’t heed our pleas,” Jibrin said. “We vehemently rejected the use of the mosque for political meetings.”

The Imam had also proposed to change the mosque’s name from Masjid Abdullahi Bin Zubbair to Masjid Imam Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

However, the committee rejected the proposal, insisting that the mosque belonged to the community and should retain its existing name.

2027: Bauchi mosque removes Imam over campaign for Tinubu

Health

Ebola: Nigerians link outbreak to government’s 2027 election plans

Published

5 hours ago

October 22, 2026

PlateauReports

HIVur 4XwAAHMRZ scaled e1779638155832.jpg

Following the confirmation of an Ebola case in Abuja, some Nigerians on X have linked the development to the federal government’s plans for the 2027 general elections, questioning the timing of the outbreak and its handling of the case.

The comments include claims that the government could use the disease as a pretext to restrict movement, affect political gatherings or influence voter turnout ahead of the elections.

The federal government on Tuesday confirmed that a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda tested positive for Ebola and is receiving treatment in isolation at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Authorities said 44 close contacts had been identified, including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and travel contacts, and are being monitored as part of efforts to prevent further transmission.

The announcement has triggered scepticism among some Nigerians online, with some questioning whether the case could be connected to political activities ahead of the 2027 elections.

One X user, @xikonex, claimed that the government could impose movement restrictions after Christmas, alleging that such measures could prevent Nigerians from travelling to their polling areas.

“APC and Bola Tinubu are planning to use Ebola to restrict Nigerians’ movement immediately after Christmas,” the user wrote, alleging that the aim would be to prevent people from voting.

Another user, @funnycrown6, urged Nigerians to remain vigilant ahead of the elections, saying: “Nigeria’s health must never become a tool for political propaganda. Our lives are not campaign strategies.”

@AnthonyOnyeGuy also questioned the timing of the development, writing: “Conveniently happening 2 months to a general election.”

Another user, @Franeb, similarly alleged that the government could impose restrictions under the guise of containing Ebola, writing that “Bola Tinubu wants to lock down Nigeria in the name of Ebola.”

Comparing 2014 response

Some Nigerians also compared the current response with Nigeria’s handling of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer became the country’s index case after arriving in Lagos.

@N6oflife6 wrote that Nigerians knew the identity of the 2014 index case and the hospital where he was treated, but claimed that the government had provided less information about the current patient.

“Ebola has happened under BAT. Two days now we don’t even know the name of the patient or who they have contacted,” the user wrote.

Similarly, @firstladyship referenced Sawyer and the late physician Stella Adadevoh, who died after contracting Ebola while treating him, arguing that the current response has left room for “guesses” and “speculations”.

However, the federal government has assured that it is taking measures to contain the infection and prevent community transmission.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said authorities are currently treating the case as an imported infection rather than community transmission. The 44 identified contacts are being monitored for at least three weeks, while public health teams continue to identify people who may have been exposed.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also urged Nigerians to remain calm, saying that one imported case does not by itself mean Nigeria is experiencing an Ebola outbreak.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, said the organisation is supporting Nigeria with case investigation, contact tracing, laboratory testing, infection prevention and control, and protection of health workers and communities.

Lawmakers demand action

Amid public concern, the House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the federal government to release outstanding funds appropriated for health agencies, citing the need to strengthen surveillance, contact tracing, and emergency response.

Lawmakers also raised concerns about infection prevention supplies, health-worker preparedness and emergency response capacity. The Senate separately called for the immediate release of emergency funds from the Service Wide Vote and urged stronger health screening at airports and other entry points.

Nigeria successfully contained its 2014 Ebola outbreak and was declared free of transmission by WHO on 20 October 2014, after 42 days without a new case. The outbreak recorded 20 cases, including 19 laboratory-confirmed cases and one probable case, with eight deaths.