Layoffs in United States

Chipper Cash laid off 20 employees on 2024-03-15.

Blueboard, a San Francisco-founded employee rewards software company, abruptly ceased all operations and shut down its website and applications on March 12, 2024. The company, which had moved its headquarters to San Diego and served approximately 500 corporate customers, was forced into liquidation after failing to secure new funding. CEO Taylor Smith cited financial struggles and an unexpected shutdown by a secured creditor, leading to an uncoordinated wind-down that affected clients and employees with unredeemed rewards. The company is now undergoing an assignment for the benefit of creditors (ABC) process while seeking a potential buyer to salvage some of its programs.

Textio laid off 14 employees representing approximately 16% of its workforce on 2024-03-14.

Ancestry, the genealogy giant, laid off 6% of its workforce in April 2024 as the company struggles with subscription revenue challenges. This reduction reflects broader pressures in the consumer health tech and genealogy industry, where maintaining user growth and recurring income has become difficult. The layoffs are part of a strategic effort to streamline operations and improve financial sustainability amid shifting market demands.

Stash laid off 80 employees representing approximately 25% of its workforce on 2024-03-13.

Phantom Auto, a remote driving startup in the autonomous vehicle industry, is shutting down after seven years, laying off its entire workforce of just over 100 employees. The shutdown, announced in March 2024, resulted from the company's inability to secure new funding in a difficult market, despite having raised $95 million total and nearing a deal. At its peak, the company employed about 120 people. This closure reflects broader challenges in the AV sector, where fading investor buzz and missed deployment timelines have led to a wave of consolidations and shutdowns.

IBM has announced layoffs within its marketing and communications division, continuing a trend of workforce adjustments as the company shifts focus toward artificial intelligence. While the exact number of affected employees was not disclosed, IBM indicated the cuts represent a "very low single digit percentage" of its global workforce, which numbers in the hundreds of thousands. This move, announced in a brief meeting led by Chief Communications Officer Jonathan Adashek, is part of an ongoing "workforce rebalancing" strategy. IBM has been actively upskilling employees and integrating AI, having previously announced plans to replace thousands of roles with automation. The layoffs occur amid a broader wave of job cuts in the tech industry, even as IBM reports modest revenue growth and expands its AI offerings like WatsonX.

On March 11, 2024, G/O Media laid off the entire 11-person staff of the sports news and commentary site Deadspin following its sale to European startup Lineup Publishing. The new owners, seeking to build a team aligned with their editorial vision, did not retain any existing employees. This move continues a trend of restructuring within G/O Media's digital media portfolio, which includes sites like Gizmodo and The Onion, and follows a recent controversial article by Deadspin that led to a defamation lawsuit. The sale and subsequent layoffs mark another significant shift for the site, originally part of Gawker Media.

Niche, a Pittsburgh-based edtech platform that helps students find colleges and neighborhoods, has laid off 7% of its workforce, affecting about 23 employees and reducing its total staff to around 320. The company, which raised significant funding in recent years, cited a strategic realignment and resource reevaluation as reasons for the cuts. Despite the layoffs, Niche remains confident in its long-term business strategy and plans to continue hiring in the future. The affected employees will receive severance, benefits continuation, and career transition support.

In March 2024, AI fraud detection software provider Inscribe laid off just under 40% of its staff, affecting dozens of employees. The San Francisco-based startup, which had around 60 employees, made the cuts in January as part of a strategic pivot. The company's board recommended the layoffs after missing revenue goals for over a year, citing market challenges and the need to adapt to AI advances in the financial services industry. The reduction primarily impacted go-to-market and operational roles as Inscribe shifts toward a new product strategy, with a major launch planned for later in the year. This follows a $25 million Series B funding round in early 2023, during which the company had anticipated growth.

In early 2024, plagiarism detection company Turnitin laid off approximately 15 employees as part of organizational changes to streamline processes and evolve its business strategy. This follows CEO Chris Caren's 2023 forecast that AI advancements would allow the company to reduce its headcount by 20% within 18 months, particularly in engineering roles. While the recent layoffs represent a small fraction of its workforce of over 900, they highlight the company's stated direction toward leveraging AI for increased efficiency in the educational technology sector. Turnitin, which provides AI-powered software to schools and universities, confirmed the layoffs but did not specify the exact number, emphasizing transitional support for affected staff.

Following their merger announcement, Israeli customer management platform Totango and its American counterpart Catalyst have laid off dozens of employees due to role overlaps. The layoffs, occurring on March 7, 2024, affect staff in both Israel and the U.S. Before the merger, Totango alone employed over 100 people. The combined entity, backed by Great Hill Partners and led by co-CEOs from both companies, aims to offer a comprehensive customer lifecycle solution. The cuts are a direct result of consolidating operations after the share-swap merger, with Totango being the larger partner.

Meta's Messenger app experienced a small round of layoffs this week, affecting fewer than 50 employees as part of a broader reorganization. This follows similar cuts at Instagram, where technical program manager roles are being eliminated and folded into product manager positions. These layoffs are part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's ongoing "efficiency" drive, which began in 2023 with over 20,000 job cuts and continues to reshape the tech giant. The move reflects a permanent cultural shift within Meta, aiming to streamline operations and reduce costs, but it has also created ongoing anxiety among some employees.

In February 2024, NFT fantasy sports startup Sorare laid off 22 employees, representing 13% of its staff, as part of a restructuring to centralize product development teams at its Paris headquarters. The web3 gaming company, valued at $4 billion in 2021, is shifting focus to improve communication and efficiency, with an additional 11 New York employees asked to relocate. While not financially driven, the move reflects a broader industry slowdown, as web3 gaming faces extended growth timelines and declining investor interest. Sorare plans to hire over 20 roles in Paris within six months and will maintain its New York office for U.S.-focused teams and partnerships with leagues like the MLB and NBA.

PlanetScale, a cloud database infrastructure company, announced on March 6, 2024, that it is restructuring to prioritize long-term profitability and sustainability. As part of this shift, the company is parting ways with an unspecified number of employees, primarily from its Sales and Marketing departments, and will sunset its free Hobby plan on April 8, 2024. While the exact number of layoffs and total workforce were not disclosed, the decision is framed as a strategic move to build a self-sustaining business. The company, recognized for its rapid growth and serving large-scale tech clients, emphasizes that this change ensures it can continue providing reliable, mission-critical database services without relying on unsustainable free offerings.

Verbit, an AI-powered transcription and captioning platform, is conducting its third round of layoffs, cutting dozens of positions including about 20 in Israel. This follows the appointment of Acting CEO Yair Amsterdam in February 2024. The company, which employed around 500 people prior to this reduction, had previously laid off 60 employees in July 2023 and about 80 in the U.S. the year before. These cuts reflect ongoing challenges for the once high-flying unicorn, which reached a $2 billion valuation in 2021 but has since faced strategic shifts under new leadership.

Form Energy on 2024-03-05.

Our Next Energy laid off 40 employees representing approximately 13% of its workforce on 2024-03-04.

Fintech unicorn Melio is laying off approximately 7% of its workforce, affecting about 40 employees primarily based in Israel, as part of an organizational restructuring announced in early March 2024. Prior to the layoffs, the company employed around 650 people globally, with 400 in Israel. This marks the second round of layoffs for the company, though the first in 2022 did not impact its Israeli branch. Management cited that the company's rapid growth—with the Israeli branch expanding from about 90 to over 400 employees in three years—led to inefficiencies in some departments, necessitating this difficult structural change to better align with future goals.

Edgio laid off 80 employees representing approximately 10% of its workforce on 2024-03-04.

Project Ronin laid off 150 employees representing approximately 100% of its workforce on 2024-03-01.

Gro Intelligence laid off 90 employees representing approximately 60% of its workforce on 2024-03-01.

Electric vehicle startup Fisker announced on February 29, 2024, that it is laying off 15% of its workforce, affecting nearly 200 employees out of over 1,300 reported in late 2023. The company is facing severe financial strain, with insufficient cash to survive the next year, prompting a strategic shift from direct sales to a dealership model. Amid this transition, Fisker is seeking additional funding and negotiating a potential partnership with a large automaker to secure its future, including the development of new EV platforms. The layoffs come as the company grapples with inventory challenges, slow dealership adoption, and ongoing quality investigations into its Ocean SUV, reflecting broader difficulties in the competitive electric vehicle industry.

Vacasa laid off 320 employees representing approximately 5% of its workforce on 2024-02-28.

Electronic Arts (EA) announced on Wednesday that it will lay off approximately 670 employees, representing 5% of its workforce, which totaled 13,400 as of March 2023. This restructuring is part of a broader plan to streamline operations, reduce office space, and discontinue development on certain games and licensed intellectual properties deemed unlikely to succeed in the evolving industry. CEO Andrew Wilson stated the move aims to focus the company's resources on its core owned IP, sports titles, and massive online communities. The video game industry has seen similar workforce reductions recently, with companies like Sony and Microsoft also implementing cuts. EA expects this restructuring to be largely completed by the end of December.

Banking-as-a-service platform Treasury Prime laid off approximately 40 to 50 employees, representing about half of its nearly 100-person workforce, as confirmed by CEO Chris Dean on February 28, 2024. The fintech company, which operates in the financial technology industry, is undergoing a strategic pivot to focus exclusively on providing software directly to banks, moving away from its previous role as a liaison connecting fintechs with banking partners. This shift comes as banks increasingly prefer to negotiate directly with fintechs, and regulatory pressures emphasize banks' direct oversight of third-party partnerships. The layoffs primarily affected teams involved in marketing and selling to other fintechs, streamlining the company to concentrate on its core technology offerings for financial institutions.

In February 2024, Motional, an autonomous vehicle company formed as a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, laid off approximately 5% of its workforce, affecting fewer than 70 employees. The cuts primarily targeted administrative and non-technical roles, with a notable impact in Boston. This reduction, representing the company's second round of layoffs since late 2022, follows Aptiv's decision to cease future capital allocation to the venture, leaving Hyundai as the primary backer. Motional stated the move was part of a resource reallocation to focus on long-term commercial success, including scaling its driverless taxi services and developing next-generation robotaxis, while continuing to hire for critical technical roles. The company operates in the competitive autonomous vehicle industry and had previously indicated funding runway through the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Bumble, the dating app company, announced plans to lay off approximately 350 employees, representing about 30% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring effort detailed in its fourth-quarter earnings report. The move, aimed at driving stronger operating leverage and aligning with future strategic priorities, comes despite reporting increased quarterly revenue. CEO Lidiane Jones described the action as "significant and decisive" to accelerate the product roadmap. This layoff reflects broader trends in the tech industry, where companies are streamlining operations amid investor pressure for efficiency. Bumble had over 950 full-time employees as of the end of 2022.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is laying off approximately 900 employees from its PlayStation division, representing about 8 percent of its global workforce. The layoffs, announced in late February 2024, affect multiple key studios including Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla Games, and Firesprite, and have led to the closure of PlayStation's London Studio. This restructuring reflects broader challenges in the gaming industry, as the company cites the need to adapt to changing market conditions and ensure future sustainability. The cuts impact employees across the Americas, Japan, EMEA, and APAC regions.

Apple, the technology giant, has canceled its long-secretive autonomous electric car initiative, Project Titan, and is laying off some of the workforce involved. The decision, announced internally on February 27, 2024, affects the project's team of approximately 1,400 employees, with likely hundreds being let go. The remaining staff will be reassigned to generative AI projects or given 90 days to find new roles within the company. This move reflects a strategic shift as Apple reevaluates its investments amid broader industry challenges in electric and autonomous vehicles, ending a decade-long effort that once involved around 5,000 workers.

Expedia laid off 1,500 employees representing approximately 8% of its workforce on 2024-02-26.

Rivian is laying off 10% of its salaried workforce to cut costs amid a tough market for electric vehicles, increasing pressure on its future affordable EV, the R2.

Carbon Health, a primary and urgent care provider, has laid off approximately 8% of its workforce, affecting around 200 employees. This reduction is part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at streamlining operations and achieving profitability amid challenging economic conditions in the healthcare sector. The layoffs occurred in early 2023, impacting various roles across the company as it adjusts its strategy to focus on sustainable growth.

Redesign Health, a company that builds and funds health care startups, has laid off an unspecified number of employees due to a slowdown in venture capital funding. CEO Brett Shaheen announced the staff reductions in an email to employees in late February 2024, citing the challenging national investment climate as the primary reason. The cuts are part of a broader strategic shift to slow the pace of new startup creation. Operating in the health care and venture capital industry, Redesign Health acts as a startup studio, and this restructuring reflects the wider pressures facing tech and venture-backed firms in a tighter financial market.

Vice Media on 2024-02-22.

Affirm laid off 60 employees on 2024-02-21.

BuzzFeed is laying off 16% of its remaining workforce, affecting employees across the company as part of a restructuring effort to improve profitability. This follows the sale of its youth-culture media brand Complex to ecommerce platform Ntwrk for $108.6 million. With a remaining staff of just under 1,000, the cuts are expected to save about $23 million annually. The move, announced in late February 2024, comes after the company shut down its BuzzFeed News division in 2023. As a digital media company, BuzzFeed will now focus on its core brands like BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Tasty, and the retained First We Feast.

Rivian, an American electric vehicle manufacturer, announced layoffs affecting 10% of its salaried workforce on February 21, 2024, as part of a broader cost-cutting effort amid mounting pricing pressure in the EV market. This marks the company's third major workforce reduction since 2022. While Rivian more than doubled its vehicle production in 2023, it reported a significant annual loss exceeding $5.4 billion. To streamline operations and focus on future growth, including the launch of its more affordable R2 model, the company is implementing a cost transformation program that includes these layoffs, manufacturing upgrades, and design changes.

Auctane, a global shipping and delivery management technology company operating brands like Stamps.com and ShipStation, conducted layoffs on a Friday in February 2024. While the company did not confirm exact figures, reports indicate the layoffs impacted between 9% and 22% of its workforce. The decision was attributed to a strategic realignment in a challenging macroeconomic environment, with the company rescoping roles to strengthen its foundation, hiring in crucial areas while reducing investment in others. This follows significant changes under private equity ownership, including a rebranding and a recent overhaul of its executive team. The industry is ecommerce technology, and the company is described as a large, global leader in its field.

In February 2024, alternative protein maker Meati Foods, which produces meat substitutes from mushroom root (mycelium), announced a workforce reduction of 13% as part of a restructuring effort to build a financially sustainable business and achieve profitability. While the exact number of employees laid off was not disclosed, the company had reported having up to 150 employees in 2022. This move coincided with a leadership transition, appointing CFO Phil Graves as the new CEO while co-founder Tyler Huggins shifted to chief innovation officer. Despite the layoffs, Meati was actively scaling production and expanding its retail presence, with products in over 3,600 stores and plans to reach 10,000 locations by the end of 2024. The company, part of the burgeoning food tech industry focused on fungi-based products, had previously raised significant venture capital, including a $150 million round to expand operations.

May Mobility representing approximately 13% of its workforce on 2024-02-15.

In late January, Gro Intelligence, a New York- and Nairobi-based AI-powered agricultural and climate data insights startup, laid off approximately 20 employees, representing 10% of its workforce. The cuts, described as board-mandated "workforce adjustments" to reduce costs, were implemented abruptly, with affected staff notified on a brief company call. While the company, which raised an $85 million Series B in 2021, boasts a strong product and clientele ranging from agribusiness to governments, industry sources suggest challenges in sales execution and focus may be hindering growth. The layoffs occur amid a broader venture capital downturn, with Gro reportedly seeking additional funding through a convertible note as it aims for stability and its next stage of development.

CodeSee, a developer tools startup, is shutting down commercial operations on February 22nd, resulting in layoffs for its entire team. The company, which had grown its user base significantly in 2023, faced inconsistent sales growth and could not achieve the revenue needed to sustain operations. Despite receiving a term sheet for further funding, leadership determined it was insufficient to cover the extensive development required to expand support for complex codebases, multiple IDEs, and various programming languages, especially amid the evolving landscape of generative AI. The company is currently seeking acquisition to preserve its technology and team, but if unsuccessful, the team will disband.

Sonder laid off 106 employees representing approximately 17% of its workforce on 2024-02-15.

Toast laid off 550 employees representing approximately 10% of its workforce on 2024-02-15.

Away representing approximately 25% of its workforce on 2024-02-14.

Cisco, a major networking and technology company, announced plans on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, to lay off approximately 4,250 employees, representing 5% of its global workforce. This decision comes as part of a broader industry trend of cost-cutting in the tech sector. While the company reported strong fiscal second-quarter results, it provided a light revenue and earnings forecast for the upcoming quarters. CEO Chuck Robbins cited a cautious macroeconomic environment and increased customer scrutiny on deals as key challenges. The layoffs are aimed at restructuring and reallocating resources, particularly as Cisco prepares to integrate its pending $28 billion acquisition of Splunk.

Instacart, the grocery delivery service, announced on Tuesday that it is laying off approximately 250 employees, which represents about 7% of its workforce. This restructuring aims to create a flatter organizational structure by reducing middle management and refocusing teams on larger projects, such as advertising initiatives. The announcement coincided with the company's fourth-quarter earnings report, which met analyst revenue estimates. Additionally, three top executives are departing for personal reasons, with only the Chief Technology Officer role being backfilled. As a major player in the gig economy and tech industry, Instacart, which went public in September, continues to navigate challenges in profitability while investing in AI-driven growth.

Impinj laid off 50 employees representing approximately 10% of its workforce on 2024-02-13.

Mozilla laid off 60 employees representing approximately 5% of its workforce on 2024-02-13.