Layoff Events

In August 2020, Swedish healthtech company Docly laid off 80% of its UK team, cutting 8 out of 10 employees, as it retreated from the UK market. This strategic shift came after a year without growth, despite a broader surge in telemedicine demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Docly, a spin-off from digital health provider Min Doktor, had struggled to secure clients in the UK for its text-based consultation services. The company decided to refocus on its core strength as a technology platform supplier, winding down its direct healthcare offerings. Operating in the competitive digital health industry, Docly faced challenges with funding and market expansion, ultimately leading to this downsizing to streamline operations.

Mapify, a travel-related technology company, has laid off several team members due to the ongoing crisis and uncertainty in the travel industry. The layoffs were communicated in a post by Patrick Haede, who expressed deep gratitude for the employees' contributions. The decision was driven by a second wave of insecurity and an unclear outlook for travel, following an initial wave in April. While the exact number of affected employees and the company's total workforce were not specified, the move reflects the broader challenges facing the travel sector. The company is supporting the impacted individuals by providing work samples and detailed references to aid their job search.

Lumina Networks representing approximately 100% of its workforce on 2020-08-18.

DJI on 2020-08-17.

Shopify, a Canadian e-commerce giant with over 5,000 employees globally, has laid off approximately 30 to 50 staff members, representing a small fraction of its workforce. The cuts, which occurred around late 2020, primarily affected internal operations roles focused on office management and technical maintenance, along with some marketing positions. This move is directly tied to Shopify's strategic shift to a permanent remote work model, dubbed "digital by default," a transition accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the company reduces its reliance on physical offices—evidenced by exiting some locations and reimagining others as "recruitment hubs"—roles dedicated to in-office support have become redundant. The layoffs, while minor in scale, underscore the operational realignments within the tech industry as companies adapt to long-term remote work.

Los Angeles-based ridesharing startup HopSkipDrive, which provides transportation services for children, conducted a round of layoffs on August 11, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted its operations. While the exact number of employees affected was not disclosed by CEO Joanna McFarland, the company had over 100 staff prior to the cuts, and this followed an earlier reduction of 10% in March. The layoffs impacted multiple departments, including operations, branding, sales, and customer support. The primary reason was the widespread shift by school districts to virtual learning, which drastically reduced demand for the company's core service. HopSkipDrive, founded in 2014 and having raised about $98 million, implemented these cuts with a focus on empathetic communication and severance support, reflecting the broader challenges faced by mobility and transportation startups during the pandemic.

Mozilla Corporation, the developer of the Firefox browser, laid off 250 employees globally, representing 25% of its workforce. This restructuring, driven by pandemic-related revenue pressures and a long-term decline in Firefox's market share, led to the closure of its Taipei operations. The company is shifting focus toward new revenue streams like its VPN and privacy products while reducing investments in developer tools and platform features. Mozilla's reliance on search ad revenue, particularly from a deal with Google, makes it vulnerable to economic downturns. The layoffs were accompanied by severance packages and the launch of a talent directory for affected employees.

Singapore-based food ordering startup Eatsy ceased all operations in April 2020, resulting in the layoff of its entire workforce of approximately 20 employees across Singapore and Indonesia. The company, which operated in the food tech and restaurant ordering industry, had struggled financially, reporting only S$66,200 in revenue against a net loss of S$912,700 for the fiscal year ending June 2019. Founder Shaun Heng stated that the team received assistance transitioning to other roles, with Heng himself moving to a position at CoinMarketCap in May. The closure highlights the challenges faced by startups in the competitive online food delivery sector.

The Appraisal Lane, an Austin-based automotive appraisal startup founded in 2013, has laid off its entire engineering team based in Uruguay. The layoffs affected at least 30 employees, which represents a significant portion of the company's engineering workforce. This move appears to be part of a restructuring effort, as the company, which has raised $1.8 million in funding, subsequently released a talent directory to help the displaced engineers find new roles. The layoffs occurred recently, as indicated by LinkedIn posts from company representatives.

Glossier laid off 150 employees representing approximately 38% of its workforce on 2020-08-07.

Toronto-based corporate catering startup Thriver (formerly Platterz) laid off 75 employees, representing 50% of its 150-person workforce, in the second quarter of 2020. The drastic reduction was a response to a significant revenue dip caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which devastated the corporate catering industry as offices closed and remote work became widespread. The layoffs primarily affected non-Canadian operations in Israel and the US as the company centralized its functions and shifted to remote customer service. Concurrently, Thriver secured a $43.8 million CAD Series B funding round to pivot beyond food into broader virtual employee engagement and workplace wellness verticals, focusing new hiring on research, development, and marketing.

Vesta laid off 56 employees on 2020-08-05.

tZero on 2020-07-30.

In July 2020, Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten announced it was shutting down its U.S. online retail marketplace, originally known as Buy.com, leading to layoffs of 87 employees at its U.S. headquarters. The decision to wind down operations over two months came after years of struggle in the competitive U.S. market, where aggressive competition from Amazon, a rebranding from the well-known Buy.com name, and declining business made the venture unsustainable. Rakuten, which had acquired Buy.com for $250 million in 2010, emphasized that its profitable cash-back rewards business (Rakuten.com, formerly Ebates) and other divisions like Kobo were unaffected. This move reflected Rakuten's broader diversification, as the marketplace closure, while a setback, had limited impact on the larger corporate bottom line.

Pared on 2020-07-29.

Procore laid off 180 employees representing approximately 9% of its workforce on 2020-07-28.

Swiggy, a major Indian foodtech unicorn, laid off 350 employees in July 2020, marking its second round of job cuts that year after letting go of 1,100 staff in May. This restructuring was a response to the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had reduced the industry's daily orders to about 50% of pre-crisis levels. The company described this as its final realignment exercise, aimed at cutting costs and reallocating resources to higher-potential areas like grocery delivery and its Swiggy Genie service, as food delivery constituted over 80% of its business. Affected employees were offered a severance package including three to eight months' salary. The layoffs reflect broader challenges in the startup sector during the pandemic, with slow recovery and ongoing lockdowns forcing many firms to reduce their workforce.

Perkbox, a London-based HR software company focused on enhancing employee experience, laid off at least four employees last week across multiple departments. While the exact percentage of its total workforce affected is not specified, the company publicly shared a talent directory on LinkedIn to help these former staff members connect with new opportunities. This move reflects ongoing adjustments within the tech industry as companies streamline operations amid economic uncertainties.

Zeitgold, a Berlin-based startup specializing in automated bookkeeping for small businesses, laid off 75 employees last week, representing 71% of its workforce and leaving only 30 team members. The company decided to discontinue its main product after realizing that, despite years of development, the service still required extensive manual labor, making it unsustainable to scale. Zeitgold will now shift focus to developing new products like tax preparation software that can operate without human involvement. The layoffs affected staff across multiple departments in Berlin and Tel Aviv, and the company has launched a talent directory to support its former employees. This move comes just three months after Zeitgold raised a $29 million Series B funding round.

Sorabel representing approximately 100% of its workforce on 2020-07-23.

Checkr, a San Francisco and Denver-based background check startup serving clients like Uber and Lyft, laid off 64 employees last Thursday, representing 12% of its workforce. The cuts affected multiple departments and were driven by a hiring slowdown among its clients during the pandemic. Impacted employees will receive 2 to 4 months of severance pay, one year of health insurance, and the removal of the one-year vesting cliff for stock options. Checkr, which was valued at $2.2 billion in late 2019, is part of the broader tech industry facing economic pressures.

In late July, LinkedIn conducted a significant workforce reduction, laying off 960 employees, which represents about 6% of its total staff. The cuts primarily impacted the Global Sales and Talent Acquisition teams, driven by a slowdown in hiring during the pandemic that affected the company's Talent Solutions business. As a response, LinkedIn launched an opt-in talent directory to help these former employees, many with expertise in customer success, recruitment, and sales across global regions, connect with new opportunities through its own platform. This move highlights the challenges faced by the professional networking giant in the tech industry's evolving landscape.

Lighter Capital laid off 22 employees representing approximately 49% of its workforce on 2020-07-20.

Curefit, a health and fitness startup, laid off approximately 150 employees, which represents around 10% of its total workforce. The layoffs occurred in early 2023 as part of a restructuring effort to streamline operations and achieve profitability amid challenging market conditions. The company operates in the health tech and fitness industry, offering services like gyms, mental wellness, and nutrition. This move reflects broader trends in the startup ecosystem where companies are focusing on sustainable growth and cost optimization.

Snaptravel on 2020-07-16.

Optimizely, a San Francisco-based startup specializing in A/B testing and digital experimentation software, laid off approximately 60 employees, representing 15% of its workforce, in July 2020. The company cited the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary reason for this difficult decision, aiming to position the business for continued success. Founded in 2009 and backed by investors like Benchmark, Index Ventures, and Goldman Sachs, Optimizely had raised $200 million in venture capital and served major clients such as Visa and IBM. Despite the broader trend of enterprise SaaS companies benefiting from the shift to remote work, Optimizely implemented these cuts, providing affected staff with severance, six months of COBRA coverage, and their laptops.

Skyscanner, a global flight comparison website based in Edinburgh, Scotland, laid off 300 employees last month, representing 20% of its workforce. The company, owned by China's Ctrip, cited significant revenue declines due to the pandemic's severe impact on the travel industry, with a full recovery expected to take several quarters or even years. In conjunction with the layoffs, Skyscanner plans to close or scale back many of its international offices outside the U.K. The cuts affected multiple departments across the organization.

Vox Media, a prominent digital media company, is preparing for company-wide layoffs affecting both unionized and non-union staff. This decision follows a significant slump in advertising revenue, with the company reporting it was 40% off its second-quarter forecast and expects to miss its full-year target by 25%. The layoffs come after Vox furloughed about 100 employees, or 9% of its staff, in April due to the pandemic's impact, many of whom will now be permanently let go. With approximately 1,200 total employees, the exact number of new cuts is still being determined as the company consults with unions. The media industry has been heavily affected by reduced advertising budgets during the coronavirus crisis, prompting these difficult measures.

Yelp, the online review platform, announced in August 2020 that it would lay off an additional 63 employees as part of its extended office closures into 2021. This comes after the company had previously laid off 1,000 workers and furloughed about 1,100 in April due to the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which drastically reduced consumer activity and business for local services. While Yelp is recalling nearly all furloughed employees and restoring pay, the ongoing uncertainty in the economy led to these further job cuts. The layoffs reflect the broader challenges faced by the tech and local business industry during the pandemic, as companies adjusted to shifting consumer behaviors and prolonged remote work arrangements.

Bizongo laid off 140 employees on 2020-07-10.

PaySense, an Indian fintech startup, laid off approximately 80 employees in early 2020, representing a significant portion of its workforce at the time. The layoffs were part of a restructuring effort following its acquisition by financial services giant PayU, aimed at integrating operations and streamlining teams. This move reflected broader consolidation trends within the competitive digital lending and payments industry, impacting a company that had scaled rapidly to become a notable player in India's startup ecosystem.

Zilingo laid off 100 employees representing approximately 12% of its workforce on 2020-07-09.

OnDeck conducted a round of layoffs this week, affecting employees across its New York and Denver offices as of July 2020. While the exact number of employees laid off and the total workforce size were not disclosed, the move was described by a former employee as necessary for the company to navigate the unprecedented economic challenges at the time. The layoffs were significant enough that the head of corporate communications was also reportedly no longer with the company, highlighting the impact. OnDeck operates in the financial technology industry, providing small business loans, and the layoffs reflect broader adjustments within the fintech sector during the pandemic period.

Funding Circle's media division AltFi is shutting down after a decade, resulting in layoffs for its entire staff. The closure comes after 18 months of severe headwinds, despite strong journalism and a loyal following in the fintech news sector. The company expressed gratitude to its employees and community for their support over the years, marking the end of its role in covering the UK fintech industry's growth.

In response to the economic challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Denver-based interior design startup Havenly implemented layoffs in the spring of 2020. The company let go of five full-time employees and some temporary workers, while also transitioning some designers from employee to contractor status. These cuts were part of broader efforts to conserve capital during a period of uncertainty, which included a discernible dip in business in March and early April. However, as stay-at-home orders spurred increased consumer interest in home improvement, Havenly's digital-focused business model saw a rebound. By June 2020, the company had reversed course, hiring six new full-time employees and five temps. The pandemic also led to the permanent closure of Havenly's retail locations in several major cities, as the company decided to focus on its digital offerings.

Kongregate laid off 12 employees on 2020-07-01.

In July 2020, women's coworking operator The Wing laid off 56 employees, a mix of hourly and corporate staff, as part of ongoing restructuring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This followed a previous round in April that cut the majority of hourly workers and half of the corporate workforce. The company, which had grown to about 12,000 members across multiple cities and raised over $100 million from investors, was forced to temporarily close its locations and pause memberships and programming. Facing a slashed valuation and operational challenges, The Wing aimed to rebuild its business model, offering severance and health benefits to affected staff while seeking a new path forward for its community.

Sharethrough laid off 18 employees on 2020-07-01.

Hired on 2020-06-30.

G2 laid off 17 employees representing approximately 5% of its workforce on 2020-06-30.

Bengaluru-based two-wheeler rental startup Bounce has laid off 130 employees, representing about 22% of its workforce, due to the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mobility industry. Announced in mid-2020, this cost-cutting measure came as the company reassessed its business priorities, leading to the transformation or postponement of several new projects and product lines. To support affected staff, Bounce reinstated their pre-pandemic salaries, provided three months of severance pay, extended health insurance through December 2020, and offered pro-rata ESOP awards and outplacement assistance. The company, which operates a keyless scooter rental service across multiple Indian cities, faced significant revenue challenges that forced it to scale back expansion plans.

New Relic laid off 20 employees on 2020-06-29.

Argo AI laid off 100 employees on 2020-06-29.

Bossa Nova, a robotics company, laid off a significant portion of its workforce in early November 2020. While the exact number of employees affected was not publicly disclosed, the layoffs impacted dozens of workers, representing a substantial reduction as the company shifted its business strategy. The cuts were part of a broader restructuring, moving away from in-store inventory robots for retailers like Walmart—a sector heavily impacted by the pandemic—to focus on other robotics applications. This restructuring occurred within the competitive and capital-intensive robotics and artificial intelligence industry.

Katerra laid off 400 employees representing approximately 7% of its workforce on 2020-06-29.

Engine eCommerce, a Fayetteville-based e-commerce software startup, laid off its entire workforce of approximately 25 employees in early 2020 after a critical funding round collapsed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, which had raised $4.5 million in venture capital and was expanding its team and office space, effectively shut down, with its website going offline and employees listing themselves as former staff. Led by prominent entrepreneur John James, Engine had developed a cloud-based platform to optimize customer acquisition and conversion but was forced to close when financial backing disappeared amid the pandemic's economic uncertainty.

Byton on 2020-06-27.

Sprinklr, a customer experience management platform valued at over $1 billion, laid off at least 30 employees in late May, affecting multiple departments across the country with a notable focus on customer success roles. While the exact percentage of its total workforce impacted is not specified, the company has initiated a talent directory to assist those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the economic pressures within the tech industry that prompted this restructuring.

Hospitality company OYO is laying off a "large majority" of its furloughed U.S. employees, as it does not expect a full global recovery from the pandemic's impact until the second half of 2021. The decision, communicated via email in late April 2020, is part of broader cost-cutting measures due to the severe downturn in the travel industry caused by the coronavirus. Affected employees will receive stock options as part of their severance, though the long-term value of these options remains uncertain. As a major global lodging platform, OYO's move reflects the profound challenges faced by the hospitality sector during the crisis.

Sonos, the audio technology company known for its smart speakers, announced in a filing on Tuesday that it is reducing its global workforce by 12% as a direct response to the economic uncertainty and challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on its reported total of 1,450 employees, this layoff affects approximately 174 people. The company is also closing its New York City retail store and six satellite offices as part of broader cost-cutting measures initiated in March, which included reducing marketing investments and managing inventory. CEO Patrick Spence stated these difficult decisions are necessary to position the company for future opportunities. Sonos estimates the restructuring will incur charges of $25 to $30 million, with executive and board compensation also being reduced during this period.