Layoff Events

Qualtrics laid off 270 employees representing approximately 5% of its workforce on 2023-01-11.

Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX conducted a quiet round of layoffs in December 2022, affecting an estimated 80 to 100 employees, primarily from its marketing, branding, and activation teams. This represents roughly 12-16% of its then 642-person workforce. The move was part of a broader business restructuring and cost-cutting effort, mirroring industry-wide challenges as crypto exchanges globally face difficult market conditions and regulatory hurdles. While the company publicly framed the changes as an internal reshuffle and hiring for new roles, sources described it as silent layoffs where employees were asked to resign with a month's severance pay. This followed a period of aggressive hiring by CoinDCX and coincided with major layoffs at its investor, Coinbase.

Limeade representing approximately 15% of its workforce on 2023-01-11.

Cloud infrastructure company HashiCorp conducted layoffs in early 2023, affecting an unspecified number of its approximately 2,400 employees. The cuts were part of broader industry challenges, with former employees sharing their experiences on LinkedIn. While the exact percentage is not detailed, the layoffs reflect a period of restructuring and economic uncertainty impacting the tech sector. HashiCorp, known for its DevOps and cloud automation tools, faced tough decisions amid shifting market conditions, leading to job reductions across various teams as the company adjusted its strategy.

In a difficult week for the fintech and e-commerce software company Paddle, CEO Christian Owens announced the layoff of 8% of its team. While the exact number of employees affected was not specified, the reduction reflects broader economic pressures and strategic adjustments within the tech industry. The layoffs occurred in late 2022, as indicated by the post date. Paddle, a scale-up company providing payment infrastructure for software businesses, handled the process with supportive measures for departing staff, including extended severance and accelerated equity vesting.

Oyster on 2023-01-11.

Esper representing approximately 21% of its workforce on 2023-01-10.

Toronto-based delivery and logistics startup GoBolt laid off 55 employees in early January 2023, impacting approximately five percent of its workforce of over 1,000. The layoffs were announced by co-founder and CEO Mark Ang, citing economic uncertainty and a strategic shift to focus spending on areas with a clear, immediate return on investment. The company is pivoting its focus away from small-to-medium-sized businesses to concentrate solely on its more profitable mid-market and enterprise merchant segments. This restructuring comes about a month after GoBolt secured $75 million in Series C funding for North American expansion and growing its electric vehicle fleet, highlighting the challenging climate for tech firms despite recent financing.

Cloud Software Group, the enterprise software company formed by the merger of Citrix and Tibco, has laid off 15% of its workforce, affecting thousands of employees. The layoffs, confirmed by CEO Tom Krause in January 2023, are part of a restructuring plan following the company's formation after private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital took Citrix private in a $16.5 billion deal. The move is aimed at cost-cutting and streamlining the combined entity in the competitive enterprise software industry.

Israeli-founded cybersecurity company Forescout Technologies laid off around 100 employees from its Israeli R&D center in January 2023, representing 60% of its local staff and about 10% of its total global workforce. This marked the company's second round of layoffs in four months, following a previous reduction of 100 employees, including 25 in Israel, in October 2022. Forescout, which provides cybersecurity automation and was acquired by private equity firm Advent International in 2020, is restructuring amid broader industry challenges.

ConsenSys, the Ethereum software firm behind the MetaMask wallet, is planning to lay off upwards of 100 employees. With a current workforce of about 900, this represents a cut of over 11%. The New York-based company is finalizing the layoffs, which contribute to a broader downturn in crypto employment, as seen with Coinbase's significant cuts the same week. This move is part of an industry-wide trend, with an estimated 27,000 crypto jobs lost since April of the previous year. The layoffs were reported in January 2023.

Unacademy-owned edtech startup Relevel is laying off 40 employees, representing nearly 20% of its workforce, as the company shifts its focus from its core education business to a test product business and the newly launched NextLevel app. CEO Gaurav Munjal cited a lack of available roles for the affected employees following this strategic pivot. The layoffs, part of a broader trend in the Indian edtech sector, occurred in early 2023. Impacted staff will receive severance pay, including notice period compensation plus two additional months, along with accelerated vesting, medical insurance, and placement support. Unacademy has laid off over 1,000 employees across its group in the past year amid ongoing industry challenges.

Sydney-based fintech company Till Payments has laid off 120 employees as part of a significant company-wide restructuring, driven by inflationary pressures and a challenging global economic outlook. The layoffs, announced on January 10, 2023, affected staff across its operations in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and North America. This move coincides with the appointment of three new board members and reflects broader difficulties facing venture-backed tech firms in the payments industry. While the exact total workforce and percentage reduction were not specified, the cuts underscore the company's efforts to navigate a tough financial environment amid economic contraction.

London-based HR tech scale-up Beamery is laying off approximately 12% of its workforce, a decision that follows closely on the heels of the company achieving a unicorn valuation in a recent funding round. The layoffs, announced in January 2023, reflect a broader trend of workforce adjustments in the tech sector as companies seek to streamline operations and adapt to changing market conditions. Beamery, which provides talent management and workforce agility solutions, is restructuring to ensure long-term sustainability despite its recent financial milestone.

StreamElements, a gaming and live-streaming technology startup, has laid off 40 employees, representing 20% of its workforce, in January 2023. This marks the second such reduction in seven months, following a similar 20% cut in June 2022. The company, which raised $100 million in 2021, cites a continued slowdown in the advertising market and among content creators, predicting a further drop in growth. The restructuring aims to build a path to profitability amid challenging market conditions.

Vancouver-based edtech company Thinkific has laid off 76 employees, representing 19% of its workforce of 394, as part of a renewed push to achieve profitability. Announced on January 10, 2023, this marks the second significant round of cuts in less than a year, following a reduction of 100 staff in March 2022. CEO Greg Smith cited the need to refocus the company and accelerate its path to positive adjusted EBITDA by year's end. The publicly traded software firm, which helps creators build and sell online courses, is navigating a challenging economic downturn that has impacted the broader tech industry, leading to widespread layoffs as companies prioritize financial sustainability over growth.

Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange, is laying off approximately 950 employees, which represents about 20% of its workforce. This follows a previous 18% reduction in June 2022. The company, which had around 4,700 employees as of September, is implementing these cuts to preserve cash amid a severe crypto market downturn exacerbated by the collapse of FTX and broader industry contagion. CEO Brian Armstrong cited the need to reduce expenses and discontinue lower-probability projects to ensure the company's resilience. The layoffs, announced in January 2023, are part of a restructuring effort expected to lower operating expenses by 25% in the first quarter.

Edtech unicorn LEAD has laid off approximately 60 employees, primarily from its product and technology teams, marking its second round of job cuts within five months. This reduction affects about 3% of its 2,000-strong workforce, following a previous layoff of 100 staff. The company cites the restructuring as a regular business activity due to certain projects, like the Nucleus and Student App, not meeting success criteria or aligning with the strategic roadmap. Despite these cuts, LEAD, which became a unicorn in early 2022, continues to expand, recently raising debt funding and acquiring Pearson's K-12 business in India. The layoffs occur against a backdrop of significant financial challenges, with the company's standalone loss soaring to INR 397.1 Cr in FY22, reflecting broader sectoral pressures as post-pandemic school reopenings impact edtech revenues.

Parler's parent company, Parlement Technologies, conducted a significant layoff in late 2023, cutting approximately 75% of its staff over several weeks from late November through December. This drastic reduction left only about 20 employees across both the Parler social media platform and its related cloud services venture. The layoffs also included most of the company's chief executives, raising serious questions about the future of this conservative-alternative social media platform. The move appears to be a sudden purge, with the company providing no public comment, leaving the industry to speculate about its underlying financial or strategic reasons amidst a competitive social media landscape.

Mortgage and title insurance technology provider Blend Labs Inc. announced a fourth round of layoffs in less than a year on January 10, 2023, cutting approximately 340 employees, which represents about 28% of its U.S. workforce. This drastic measure is part of an ongoing effort to reduce costs and stem cumulative losses exceeding $1 billion. The company also announced the resignations of its President and heads of Finance and Legal. This latest restructuring follows previous layoffs in April, August, and November 2022, with the combined cuts aimed at achieving over $100 million in annualized savings.

Wearable fitness technology company Whoop has laid off 4% of its corporate workforce, primarily affecting its enterprise sales team known as Whoop Unite. This strategic reduction, announced in January 2023, marks the startup's second round of layoffs within just six months as it aims to sharpen its business focus. The cuts reflect broader industry trends, with many tech companies scaling back after a period of rapid growth. Founded in 2011 and backed by SoftBank's Vision Fund, Whoop had achieved a $3.6 billion valuation in 2021 and had recently expanded its target market from individual consumers and athletes to include enterprise clients.

Informatica laid off 450 employees representing approximately 7% of its workforce on 2023-01-10.

In January 2023, esports and lifestyle brand 100 Thieves conducted another round of layoffs, eliminating approximately 30 positions. This followed a significant reduction in its social media and content teams in mid-2022. The cuts primarily affected the editing and VFX departments, and included high-profile staff such as Chief Revenue Officer Matty Lee. The layoffs reflect ongoing restructuring within the competitive gaming and entertainment industry, as organizations like 100 Thieves adjust their operations amid broader economic pressures.

Century Therapeutics on 2023-01-09.

Scale AI, a leading AI data platform company, has announced a significant workforce reduction, laying off 20% of its team. This difficult decision, made by the CEO who took full responsibility, was driven by a need to realign the company's investments with a dramatically changed economic environment. The company had aggressively expanded its headcount in recent years, anticipating sustained high growth from enterprise and government AI interest, particularly during the pandemic's boost to sectors like e-commerce. However, facing a market correction and uncertain conditions for its clients, Scale AI concluded this restructuring was necessary for its long-term health. The layoffs were announced in a company update, with departing employees offered severance, extended healthcare, and other transition support.

Editas Medicine, an early gene-editing biotech company, laid off 20% of its workforce in January 2023 as part of a strategic restructuring to streamline its pipeline and operations. The layoffs coincided with the departure of its Chief Scientific Officer and were announced ahead of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. The company, which has faced challenges in advancing its clinical programs, made these cuts to prioritize key research and development efforts and extend its financial runway in a difficult market for the biotechnology industry.

Fate Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, is laying off 315 employees, representing more than half of its workforce. This reduction will leave the company with 220 employees after the first quarter of 2023. The layoffs, which affect all departments including senior leadership and R&D, are part of a major restructuring following the termination of a key collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech. The company is also discontinuing several natural killer cell programs to focus its pipeline on multiple myeloma and CAR T-cell therapies for solid tumors. Despite the cuts, Fate Therapeutics reports sufficient cash reserves to sustain operations through 2025.

Digital content publishing platform Minute Media is laying off approximately 50 employees, which represents about 10% of its global workforce of 520 people. The company, which operates in the digital media and advertising industry, announced the cuts in January 2023 as a strategic move to streamline operations and drive toward profitability amid a complex market period. This decision follows a postponed initial public offering that was previously targeted at a $1 billion valuation before market conditions shifted. The layoffs are part of a broader effort to focus resources on core growth areas for 2023-2024.

WalkMe, a publicly traded software company, laid off 43 employees, representing 3% of its workforce, in January 2023. This strategic reduction was part of a shift to focus exclusively on enterprise clients with over 500 employees, moving away from the small and medium-sized business sector. The company, which went public in 2021, implemented these cuts to reduce its cash burn and aim for profitability, expecting annual savings of $6-7 million. This restructuring also included changes in executive roles, with the co-founder stepping back from the presidency.

Integrate, a marketing technology company, recently underwent a restructuring that resulted in layoffs affecting an unspecified number of its global team members. The company's leadership acknowledged the difficult decision, taking responsibility and offering support to those impacted through severance packages and assistance in finding new roles. While exact figures on the total workforce, percentage affected, and specific date were not disclosed in the announcement, the move reflects broader challenges within the tech and martech sectors. The CEO publicly shared a list of affected employees seeking opportunities, emphasizing the company's effort to handle the situation with compassion during this restructuring period.

Carbon Health, a primary and urgent care provider in the healthcare industry, laid off approximately 8% of its workforce, affecting around 200 employees, as part of a restructuring effort to streamline operations and focus on core markets. The layoffs occurred in early 2024, following a period of rapid expansion, as the company adjusted its strategy to improve financial sustainability and operational efficiency.

Bounce, a scooter rental and electric two-wheeler manufacturer, laid off approximately 5% of its workforce, affecting around 40-50 employees, as part of cost-cutting measures in early January 2023. With a total staff of 500-700 in India, the layoffs targeted customer support, finance, and other segments. The company, backed by Sequoia Capital and other investors, has been shifting focus from its pandemic-hit bike rental operations to electric vehicle manufacturing under the Bounce Infinity brand. This marks the third round of layoffs for Bounce, following significant workforce reductions in 2021, as it strives to streamline expenses and drive efficiency in its OEM business amid ongoing industry challenges.

Lantern, a cannabis delivery technology company based in Massachusetts, is winding down its business by the end of January, resulting in layoffs for its entire team. The company grew to account for over half of the cannabis delivery market in Massachusetts, but faced challenges expanding beyond the state due to slow legalization and complex regulatory frameworks in key markets like New York. Lantern's closure reflects broader industry difficulties for ancillary cannabis tech companies, despite its success in facilitating early legal adult-use deliveries and advocating for social equity policies in the cannabis sector.

Huobi laid off 275 employees representing approximately 20% of its workforce on 2023-01-06.

Aware on 2023-01-06.

On January 6, 2023, the crypto NFT marketplace SuperRare laid off 30% of its staff. CEO John Crain announced the cuts via a Slack message, citing unsustainable aggressive growth during the recent bull market and taking responsibility for over-hiring. The company, which focuses on working with artists and had raised a $9 million Series A in 2021, is facing broader industry headwinds, similar to larger competitor OpenSea, which also conducted layoffs. This move reflects the ongoing challenges in the crypto and NFT sector during a market downturn.

CreateMe on 2023-01-06.

CareerArc, a company specializing in employer branding and recruitment technology, recently underwent a reorganization that resulted in layoffs, affecting a number of smart and talented employees. While the exact number laid off and the percentage of the workforce impacted are not specified in the post, the announcement highlights the ongoing challenges within the tech industry, particularly for B2B SaaS, social media, and HR tech firms. The layoffs occurred as part of the company's restructuring efforts, reflecting broader trends of adjustment and consolidation in the sector. CareerArc, with a following of over 9,000 on LinkedIn, operates at a scale that serves numerous clients in recruitment and employer branding, emphasizing the human aspect of these difficult business decisions.

In January 2023, augmented reality hardware startup Mojo Vision announced a major restructuring, laying off 75% of its workforce. The California-based company, which had been developing AR smart contact lenses, cited significant challenges in raising capital due to economic headwinds and an unproven market for advanced AR products. As a result, production of the Mojo Lens was put on hold. The company pivoted to focus its remaining resources on the underlying micro-LED display technology, which it believes has broad disruptive potential. This drastic staff reduction impacted roles across the startup as it decelerated its flagship project.

In August 2022, Megaport, a telecommunications infrastructure company, laid off 35 employees as part of cost-cutting measures to address rising inflation and achieve profitability. The layoffs, representing a small percentage of its workforce, were aimed at turning earnings positive by the fourth quarter and reducing overall losses. This move was positively received by investors, with shares rising 9% despite a broader downturn in the tech sector, though the company's stock had still declined significantly since the start of the year.

Cue laid off 388 employees on 2023-01-05.

Twitter laid off 40 employees on 2023-01-05.

UpScalio, an Indian e-commerce roll-up company, has laid off approximately 20% of its workforce, affecting around 60 employees. The layoffs, which occurred in early 2024, are part of a strategic restructuring aimed at improving profitability and operational efficiency. As a startup in the competitive e-commerce aggregation space, UpScalio is adjusting its team size to better align with current market conditions and business priorities.

Genesis, a cryptocurrency lender under Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group, has laid off 60 employees, representing 30% of its workforce, which now stands at approximately 145. This significant staff reduction, reported in early 2023, is part of the company's efforts to cut costs and avoid bankruptcy amidst severe financial strain. The crisis was triggered by the collapse of major clients, including the FTX exchange and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, leading Genesis to freeze client redemptions in November 2022. The firm faces mounting pressure from creditors and ongoing liquidity challenges within the volatile crypto industry.

B2B ecommerce unicorn Moglix has laid off 40 employees, representing about 2-3% of its workforce, following an annual performance review. The company, which operates in the industrial goods marketplace sector and achieved a $2.6 billion valuation in 2022, stated this is part of regular performance management and task automation, while also planning to hire over 300 people in 2023. However, reports suggest the layoffs could have impacted up to 200 employees, or 15% of the workforce, amid broader funding challenges in the Indian startup ecosystem, where over 18,000 jobs were cut in 2022.

Stitch Fix, the online personal styling service, is laying off 20% of its salaried workforce, impacting approximately 340 employees based on its June count of about 1,700 salaried staff. This significant reduction, announced on Thursday, comes as founder Katrina Lake reassumes the role of interim CEO following the immediate departure of CEO Elizabeth Spaulding. The company, which experienced a surge during the pandemic, has been struggling with declining sales, a shrinking customer base, and failed initiatives like the Freestyle direct-buy option. Additionally, the closure of its Salt Lake City distribution center will result in about 150 further layoffs. These cuts aim to address financial challenges and reposition the brand in the competitive apparel subscription industry.

TCR2 representing approximately 40% of its workforce on 2023-01-05.

Everlane laid off 30 employees representing approximately 17% of its workforce on 2023-01-05.

Israeli predictive analytics company Pecan AI is laying off 30 employees, which represents 25% of its 120-person workforce. The layoffs were announced in early January 2023, as the company, which had raised a $66 million Series C round just a year prior, navigates the broader tech downturn. Pecan AI provides a low-code platform for business intelligence analysts to generate predictive models from transactional data.

SoundHound laid off 200 employees representing approximately 50% of its workforce on 2023-01-05.