Layoffs in United States

Shift Technologies, a used car e-commerce platform, announced a workforce reduction as part of its updated business plan following its merger with CarLotz. While the exact number of layoffs was not specified, the cuts are a result of operational changes aimed at achieving profitability by 2024. The company, operating in the automotive retail industry, is shifting focus to its most profitable online sales channel and optimizing its inventory, which includes reducing its physical footprint. The announcement was made in August 2022 as Shift merged with CarLotz to combine assets and strengthen its market position.

On August 9, 2022, cloud computing and hyperconverged infrastructure company Nutanix announced a workforce reduction of approximately 270 employees, representing about 4% of its total staff. This decision followed a review of its business structure and other cost-cutting measures, positioning the layoffs as part of the company's strategic efforts to streamline operations and achieve profitable growth. The majority of the reductions were expected to be completed by the end of the fiscal quarter on October 31, 2022, with the company anticipating related pre-tax charges between $20 million and $25 million for severance and termination benefits.

Quanterix laid off 130 employees representing approximately 25% of its workforce on 2022-08-09.

Sweetgreen, a fast-casual restaurant chain in the food and beverage industry, laid off 5% of its support center workforce in mid-2022 as part of cost-cutting measures. The layoffs, announced alongside a downsizing to a smaller office, were driven by weaker-than-expected sales that began around Memorial Day, attributed to summer travel, a slow return to offices, and new COVID-19 cases. The company, which had around 2,800 total employees at the time, also lowered its annual revenue forecast. These steps were taken to reduce operating expenses and move toward profitability amid a challenging post-pandemic market environment.

DataRobot, a Boston-based AI startup, is conducting another round of layoffs under its new interim CEO, Debanjan Saha. While the exact number of affected employees was not disclosed, this follows a previous cut in May that eliminated 7% of its then 1,000-plus workforce. The company, which once reached a $6.3 billion valuation, is scaling back after over-expanding its operations last year in anticipation of an IPO. The decision is attributed to changed market realities, a weaker economy, and missed revenue targets. This restructuring comes amid leadership changes, including the recent resignation of the former CEO.

Vroom laid off 337 employees on 2022-08-08.

On August 8, 2022, Chicago-based e-commerce company Groupon laid off over 500 employees, representing approximately 15% of its 3,416-person workforce. The cuts impacted various teams, including merchant development, sales, recruiting, engineering, product, and marketing. CEO Kedar Deshpande cited that overall business performance was below expectations, prompting decisive actions to improve the company's trajectory. As part of a restructuring, Groupon is focusing solely on mission-critical activities, reducing its North America sales teams to emphasize self-service merchant acquisition, closing its Australia Goods business, and rationalizing its real estate footprint. The company aims these measures, alongside reinvestments in marketing, to achieve positive cash flow by the end of 2022, amidst a challenging market and increased competition in the online deals space.

Warby Parker, the direct-to-consumer eyewear retailer, laid off 63 corporate employees in early August 2022, representing a small percentage of its overall workforce, as the company aimed to navigate a challenging macroeconomic environment. The job cuts, which excluded customer-facing retail and lab roles, were part of a broader effort to operate more efficiently and focus on high-impact opportunities amid slowing growth and rising costs. This move followed a disappointing first quarter with unexpected losses, reflecting wider pressures in the retail and DTC sectors, where companies like Allbirds and Shopify were also reducing headcount.

Daily Harvest, a New York City–based frozen vegan food delivery startup valued at $1.1 billion, laid off 15% of its workforce in early August 2022. The cuts, which were planned prior to a major food safety crisis, were attributed to broader inflationary pressures and a slowing economy affecting many startups. This reduction occurred as the company grappled with a severe public relations and operational challenge stemming from its recalled French Lentil + Leek Crumbles, which reportedly sickened hundreds of customers, led to hospitalizations, and triggered multiple lawsuits. The layoffs reflect both internal economic adjustments and the external fallout from the product safety issue that amplified on social media.

Snap is planning to lay off employees, but the article does not specify the number of affected employees, total employees, reason, or announcement date.

iRobot laid off 140 employees representing approximately 10% of its workforce on 2022-08-05.

Talkdesk, a Portuguese-founded unicorn in the cloud contact center industry, has laid off a single-digit percentage of its global workforce as part of a restructuring effort. With approximately 2,100 employees worldwide, this reduction likely affects fewer than 200 people. The company cited the need to align resources with its strategic priorities and the current economic climate, including performance-based cuts. This move follows similar adjustments by other Portuguese tech unicorns. Talkdesk maintains over 1,000 professionals in Portugal and recently secured $230 million in funding.

Slync.io, a Goldman Sachs-backed supply-chain technology startup, laid off an unspecified number of employees on August 5, 2022, following months of financial turmoil. The layoffs occurred across various departments, coming just hours after the company finally paid overdue wages that had been delayed for nearly three months. Concurrently, the board terminated CEO and cofounder Chris Kirchner, who had been suspended the previous week amid the company's liquidity struggles and his controversial personal activities, including attempts to buy a football club. Interim president Tim Kehoe had foreshadowed this restructuring, citing efforts to stabilize the company's finances. The layoffs, part of a broader leadership and operational shake-up, reflect the severe cash-flow challenges faced by the startup in the competitive logistics tech industry.

RingCentral laid off 50 employees on 2022-08-04.

Jam City laid off 200 employees representing approximately 17% of its workforce on 2022-08-04.

On Deck, a tech startup that connects founders with resources and networks, laid off 73 full-time employees in August 2022, representing about a third of its staff. This followed a previous round of layoffs just months earlier, where a quarter of employees were cut. The company, which had grown rapidly to serve over ten thousand founders and professionals, cited a need to refocus after expanding too broadly across multiple communities. As part of the restructuring, On Deck spun off its career advancement arm and sunsetted several programs, including a climate tech fellowship. Affected employees received eight weeks of severance, accelerated option vesting, and healthcare coverage.

10X Genomics laid off 100 employees representing approximately 8% of its workforce on 2022-08-04.

Cannabis-tech company Weedmaps laid off approximately 10% of its workforce in early August 2022, affecting around 60 employees out of a total of 606 full-time workers at the end of 2021. The decision, communicated by CEO Chris Beals, was driven by a significant slowdown in legal cannabis sales in key markets like Colorado and California, rising fuel costs, and broader economic concerns pointing to a potential recession. Beals acknowledged misjudging the market's recovery timeline. The layoffs aim to help the company navigate ongoing industry turbulence and achieve profitability amid a challenging period for the cannabis sector, which has seen Weedmaps' stock drop over 55% this year.

Doma laid off 250 employees representing approximately 13% of its workforce on 2022-08-04.

StubHub, a major online ticket marketplace, laid off approximately 30 employees in early 2024 as part of a restructuring effort to streamline operations and improve efficiency. The cuts represented a small percentage of its global workforce, which numbers in the thousands. The move reflects broader adjustments within the live events and e-commerce industry as companies adapt to post-pandemic market conditions and focus on technological investments.

Medly, a pharmacy and healthcare delivery company, laid off approximately 16% of its workforce in a difficult round of cuts. The layoffs, announced by an executive in a LinkedIn post, affected employees across all departments, including product managers, designers, and software engineers. The decision was described as the hardest day of the executive's career, indicating internal restructuring or economic pressures as the likely context. The company, which operates in the competitive health-tech industry, undertook this reduction to streamline operations, though the exact total number of employees impacted was not specified in the announcement.

Beyond Meat laid off 40 employees representing approximately 4% of its workforce on 2022-08-03.

The Org, a professional community platform, laid off 13 employees from its New York-based team this week. This reduction, driven by the challenging economic climate, led the company to cut activities not directly supporting its core strategy. The layoffs affected roles across Revenue, Recruitment/Executive Search, and Editorial/Content Strategy/Journalism. While the total employee count and exact percentage were not disclosed, the company emphasized its commitment to supporting departing colleagues with severance, extended healthcare, financial planning assistance, and career networking aid.

Latch, a smart building software company, announced a workforce reduction on August 2, 2022, as part of a plan to improve operating efficiency. The layoffs affected approximately 115 employees, representing about 37% of its full-time workforce at the time. This move is aimed at refocusing the company on higher-margin activities and aligning its organizational structure with its business size. The reduction is expected to contribute to significant annualized operating savings, following similar changes announced earlier in May 2022.

Stedi, a company in the technology and API integration industry, recently conducted a layoff affecting an unspecified number of employees. The exact scale of the workforce reduction, including the total number of employees or percentage impacted, was not detailed in the available information. The layoffs appear to be part of broader operational adjustments, though the specific reasons and context remain unclear. The event occurred recently, but a precise date was not provided. Stedi operates as a smaller-scale tech firm focused on streamlining business integrations through APIs.

Outreach, a sales execution platform company in the B2B software industry, has laid off less than 5% of its workforce as part of operational adjustments to its strategic growth plan. While the exact number of affected employees is not specified, the reduction involves a small number of roles on certain teams, with the company simultaneously funding new positions elsewhere. CEO Manny Medina stated that this difficult decision, made to ensure focus on the company's mission and to weather upcoming economic challenges, will help Outreach extend its market leadership. The layoffs occurred recently, with the company emphasizing its commitment to supporting the impacted employees in their job searches.

The Predictive Index, a company specializing in talent optimization and behavioral assessments, laid off 40 employees on Tuesday due to a reduction in force (RIF). While the exact total number of employees and percentage affected are not specified in the post, the layoffs impacted a group described as highly vetted professionals with strong cognitive and behavioral alignment to their roles. The event highlights the ongoing challenges within the tech and HR technology sectors, even for companies that emphasize values like teamwork and empathy. The post aims to support affected colleagues by showcasing their qualifications and connecting them with new opportunities.

Streaming-TV provider FuboTV conducted a small workforce reduction in its U.S. business on August 2, 2022, as part of a broader effort to adopt a more conservative approach to growth amid a deteriorating macroeconomic environment. The company, which operates in the competitive media and sports streaming industry, stated the layoffs were a difficult decision to ensure financial flexibility and focus on profitable growth. While the exact number of affected employees was not disclosed, the move reflects the challenges faced by the sports-focused, publicly-traded company, which has yet to achieve profitability despite significant revenue growth. The layoffs were effective August 15, coinciding with a period of increased scrutiny on media and sports stocks during an economic downturn.

On August 2, 2022, Nylas, a communications API platform company in the technology industry, announced a significant workforce reduction. The company's co-founder and CEO, Gleb Polyakov, stated that due to shifting economic dynamics and the need to ensure considerable financial runway during the downturn, the decision was made to lay off 80 employees. This reduction was framed as a strategic realignment to position the company with ample resources and flexibility to navigate the uncertain market and be ready for a future recovery. The leadership emphasized treating impacted employees with compassion, offering a severance package including two months of base pay, extended healthcare, job support, and other benefits.

Seegrid laid off 90 employees on 2022-08-02.

Glossier, a direct-to-consumer beauty brand, laid off approximately two dozen employees this week as part of an ongoing internal restructuring. This follows a previous round of layoffs earlier in the year that primarily affected tech staff. The company, which employs around 1,000 people globally, is pivoting its strategy to focus more on retail and wholesale distribution, including a new partnership with Sephora set to launch in early 2023. Under CEO Kyle Leahy, who took over in June, Glossier is reorganizing to support an omnichannel approach, shifting from its earlier DTC-exclusive model. While reducing roles in some areas, the company is simultaneously hiring for over a dozen new positions in retail, product, supply chain, and wholesale to align with this refined direction.

In August 2022, the retail investment fintech company Robinhood laid off approximately 23% of its workforce, affecting about 713 employees and reducing its total staff to roughly 2,400. This significant cut came just three months after the company had already reduced its workforce by 9%. CEO Vlad Tenev took responsibility, citing over-hiring during the 2021 market frenzy based on expectations of sustained high retail engagement. He explained that the deteriorating macroeconomic environment, including high inflation and a crypto market crash, led to reduced customer trading activity, making the earlier layoffs insufficient. The layoffs were concentrated in operations, marketing, and program management functions.

Oracle on 2022-08-01.

In August 2022, the educational technology company Classkick conducted a layoff, as indicated by a public spreadsheet tracking affected employees. The document lists at least 13 individuals across roles in engineering, product design, customer support, business operations, and recruiting who were impacted during the first half of the month. While the exact scale of the layoff relative to the company's total workforce is not specified in this data, the event reflects broader industry challenges and restructuring efforts common among EdTech firms during that period.

Perceptive Automata representing approximately 100% of its workforce on 2022-08-01.

In August 2022, ad tech firm Quantcast laid off approximately 6% of its workforce, affecting around 40 employees out of a total of roughly 700. The cuts were part of a global restructuring announced internally as the company, like many in the digital media and ad tech industry, faced economic headwinds and reduced advertiser spending. This move reflected broader sector-wide belt-tightening amid a challenging economic climate.

Imperfect Foods laid off 50 employees on 2022-07-29.

Shelf Engine laid off 43 employees on 2022-07-29.

Turntide representing approximately 20% of its workforce on 2022-07-28.

Ribbon, a real estate technology company known as a "Power Buyer," laid off 136 employees on July 28, 2022, which represented about one-third of its workforce. The layoffs were part of a strategic move to find a clear and achievable path to profitability amid significant market volatility and shifting housing demands. Despite recently expanding into eight new states and more than doubling its market footprint, the company faced challenges as post-pandemic housing behavior revealed affordability issues and softened first-time homebuyer demand. Ribbon, which had raised $150 million in Series C funding and operates in 15 states, partners with agents and lenders to help homebuyers make cash offers. CEO Shaival Shah emphasized the need to adapt to the new market reality while continuing to expand into new areas and develop tools like RibbonHub to meet evolving needs.

In July 2022, following its acquisition by Lemonade, auto insurtech company Metromile laid off approximately 60 employees, representing about 20% of its staff. The layoffs were part of a synergistic integration, as the combined entity could operate with fewer people than the two standalone companies required. Metromile, which had gone public via a SPAC in 2021, was valued at just under $137 million at the time, a significant decline from its previous highs. The cuts, common in such business combinations, reportedly affected roles in product, engineering, and design teams, among others.

Career Karma, a learning navigation platform, laid off 60 employees earlier this week in July 2022, which reportedly affected about a third of its staff. The company, which connects students with bootcamps and training programs to enter the tech industry, now has over 120 remaining employees. The layoffs primarily impacted marketing and recruitment teams, while the C-suite was unaffected. CEO Ruben Harris cited the need to extend the company's runway amid a prolonged economic recovery in the tech sector, estimating it could last 3 to 4 years. Following a $40 million Series B round earlier in 2022, the startup aims to stretch its cash reserves, now having over three years of operating funds without requiring additional funding.

In July 2022, online program management company 2U laid off 20% of its workforce as part of a restructuring following its merger with edX. The layoffs, which affected hundreds of employees, were a response to enrollment declines across higher education and the challenges of integrating edX. Concurrently, 2U announced a strategic pivot, reducing its core revenue-sharing fee for degree programs from over 60% to 35% and offering incentives for partner institutions to lower tuition. This shift aims to align the company more closely with industry competitors and address long-standing criticism of its pricing model. The changes reflect broader tumult in the online education sector, where 2U remains a major player despite these adjustments.

Brainbase, a modern technology platform for intellectual property and licensing management, underwent a restructuring in 2022 that returned control to its founders. As part of this move, the company raised $1 million in new capital and achieved profitability. While specific layoff numbers were not disclosed, the company acknowledged its team became "a bit smaller" due to the restructuring, which was driven by slowed growth in the licensing industry amid economic challenges. The restructuring aimed to ensure long-term sustainability, allowing Brainbase to continue serving major global brands with its platform.

Vox Media laid off 39 employees representing approximately 2% of its workforce on 2022-07-27.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian announced layoffs affecting 6% of its workforce in late July 2022. This reduction, part of a broader restructuring effort, was driven by challenging economic conditions and the company's strategic need to optimize costs and improve operational efficiency as it scaled production of its electric trucks and SUVs. The move impacted hundreds of employees within the competitive automotive and clean transportation industry, where Rivian operates as a notable, publicly-traded startup.

Dover laid off 23 employees representing approximately 30% of its workforce on 2022-07-26.

Included Health representing approximately 6% of its workforce on 2022-07-25.

Pear Therapeutics laid off 25 employees representing approximately 9% of its workforce on 2022-07-25.

Zymergen laid off 80 employees on 2022-07-25.