Layoffs in United States

Uber, the global ridesharing and mobility platform, laid off 3,700 employees last Wednesday, representing 14% of its workforce. The cuts primarily impacted the customer support and recruiting teams. In a letter to staff, the CEO indicated that further layoffs are expected in the coming week, potentially affecting engineering and product departments. Reports suggest the total number of job cuts could eventually reach between 5,400 and 6,700. Additionally, Uber's subsidiary Jump is reportedly cutting 400-500 employees as it is being offloaded to Lime, following Uber's investment in the electric scooter company.

Data analytics unicorn Segment, a $1.5 billion startup competing with giants like Oracle and Salesforce, laid off 10% of its staff in early May 2020, cutting just over 50 jobs. The layoffs were a direct response to the economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to shrinking IT budgets and a slowdown in business as enterprise customers were squeezed. CEO Peter Reinhardt stated the company was restructuring to adapt to the rapidly changing situation and to focus on supporting customers undergoing digital transformation. Despite serving over 19,000 clients and having raised about $284 million from investors like Accel and GV, Segment took this step to ensure it remained well-resourced for the future amid the downturn.

Uber laid off 14 percent of its workforce as part of COVID-19-related cost-cutting measures.

Cloudera on 2020-05-05.

Last month, Juul, the embattled e-cigarette maker, laid off 900 employees, representing 30% of its workforce. This follows a previous round of 650 layoffs in October, bringing the total cuts over the past year to 1,550 employees. The company, which has faced intense regulatory scrutiny and controversy over its role in youth vaping, stated these reductions were unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. These significant workforce reductions reflect the severe operational and legal challenges confronting the vaping industry.

Workable laid off 25 employees representing approximately 10% of its workforce on 2020-05-05.

Stack Overflow, the widely-used developer Q&A platform, has reduced its workforce by 15%, affecting 40 employees, as announced in early May 2020. This decision was driven by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which particularly affected its Talent business—a service for recruiting developers—as hiring slowed across the tech industry. Most of the impacted staff were furloughed, retaining benefits, while some were laid off. The company, which reported around 50 million monthly unique visitors and an annualized revenue run rate of $80 million, stated the cuts were necessary to ensure long-term sustainability, with a focus on growing its paid products and advertising to eventually reinstate furloughed employees.

In May, Africa-focused tech startup Andela laid off 135 employees, impacting multiple departments across its offices in Nairobi, Lagos, Kigali, Kampala, and New York City. The company, which provides engineering as a service, cited a decline in customers due to the economic downturn as the primary reason. This workforce reduction, which included 59 engineers and 30 non-engineers, coincides with a strategic shift from a talent accelerator model to a talent outsourcing firm. The layoffs affected a significant portion of its team, with most impacted employees based in Africa.

Airbnb, the home-sharing startup, laid off 1,900 employees, representing 25% of its workforce, on Tuesday. The company is pausing initiatives such as Transportation and Airbnb Studios, while scaling back its Hotels and Lux divisions. Laid-off U.S. employees will receive a generous severance package including at least 14 weeks of base pay and 12 months of health insurance.

In May 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic's economic fallout, Australian tech company LiveTiles laid off 50 employees as part of restructuring efforts. The layoffs, which included the entire U.S. products team, were driven by market volatility, a sharp decline in the Australian dollar, and frozen investor appetite, despite the company's recent recognition as one of Australia's fastest-growing tech firms with $55 million AUD in annual revenue. This move aimed to reduce costs and navigate the sudden downturn, highlighting the pandemic's severe impact on even high-growth sectors.

Virtudent laid off 70 employees on 2020-05-01.

Sandbox VR, a virtual reality startup, conducted significant layoffs last week, reportedly cutting 80% of its staff. This reduction left the company with a skeleton crew of around 20 employees. The layoffs notably included the entire engineering team, and the CEO announced he was laying himself off as well. The company, which operates in the VR entertainment industry, has faced challenges amid broader economic pressures affecting tech startups.

Automatic, a connected car hardware startup acquired by SiriusXM, is shutting down all operations on May 28, 2020, as a direct casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, which produced a popular dongle for car monitoring and driver insights, informed customers that its services—including crash alerts and roadside assistance—will cease. Founded in 2011 and purchased for over $100 million in 2017, Automatic cited the adverse economic impact of the pandemic as the reason for discontinuing its product and platform, ending support for all device generations and offering limited rebates to customers.

TheSkimm laid off 26 employees representing approximately 20% of its workforce on 2020-05-01.

Namely, a New York City and Atlanta-based HR and payroll software company, laid off 110 employees earlier this month, representing about 40% of its workforce. The layoffs affected all departments, including brokerage, client operations, go-to-market, and product/engineering teams. The company cited the economic impact of the pandemic, as its small and medium-sized business customers have been downsizing, leading to reduced revenue for Namely, which operates on a per-employee monthly fee model.

Cohesity on 2020-04-30.

Bullhorn, a Boston-based CRM software provider for the staffing and recruiting industry, laid off 100 employees last Thursday. The cuts, which affected all departments, were attributed to significant revenue declines among its clients as hiring slows down. The company's CEO publicly shared an opt-in list of the affected employees to assist them in finding new opportunities.

AirMap, an airspace services platform for unmanned aircraft, laid off approximately 28 employees, representing around 30% of its team, effective May 15. The company announced staff reductions and cuts to non-core initiatives, affecting all departments, including engineering roles in Santa Monica and Austin. This restructuring reflects broader challenges in the tech and drone services industry as companies streamline operations.

PicoBrew, a Seattle-based homebrewing appliance startup, effectively shut down in late April 2020 after entering receivership earlier in the year. The company's new owner, the former bridge lender, acquired it through a winning bid and subsequently let go of the founding team—including former CEO Bill Mitchell—and the customer service staff. While the exact number of layoffs and total employees isn't specified, the move signals a full operational wind-down, with assets like patents likely to be sold or licensed. The closure marks the end of PicoBrew's venture in the automated homebrewing industry, leaving the future of its products and services uncertain.

Fandom representing approximately 14% of its workforce on 2020-04-30.

WeWork, the New York-based provider of coworking spaces, has conducted another round of layoffs, affecting an estimated 300 employees primarily from its tech and development teams. The cuts come as the company realigns functions under its strategic five-year plan, citing recent unforeseeable economic conditions, including the shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows a major layoff of about 2,400 employees last November from a workforce then estimated at 15,000. The company, which has faced significant challenges including a canceled IPO and leadership changes, continues to restructure in pursuit of profitability and positive cash flow goals.

Lyft, the ridesharing company, laid off 982 employees yesterday, which represents 17% of its workforce, and placed an additional 288 on furlough. This significant reduction across all departments comes as the company's revenue has plummeted by more than 50% due to the coronavirus pandemic. The layoffs reflect the severe impact on the transportation industry, with rival Uber also reportedly considering substantial job cuts.

Transfix laid off 24 employees representing approximately 10% of its workforce on 2020-04-29.

Kayak and OpenTable, both owned by Booking Holdings, have implemented workforce reductions affecting 400 employees through layoffs, furloughs, or reduced hours. This action, announced by CEO Steve Hafner in an email on Wednesday, is a direct response to a severe revenue decline caused by the coronavirus pandemic. These cuts mark the first significant reported layoffs within Booking Holdings related to the crisis, aside from earlier contractor non-renewals at Booking.com. As the travel industry faces widespread challenges, further reductions across other Booking brands may follow.

Lime, the scooter rental startup, laid off 80 employees last week, representing 13% of its workforce. The company cited the need to pause operations in nearly all of its global markets to comply with social distancing measures during the coronavirus pandemic. This follows a previous round of layoffs in January, when Lime cut 100 workers and exited 12 markets. The latest reductions impact all departments as the company adjusts to the widespread operational halt.

TripAdvisor, an online travel company, laid off 900 employees, which represents approximately 25% of its workforce. This significant reduction occurred as the company decided to close its San Francisco and downtown Boston offices. The layoffs are part of a broader trend in the travel industry, which has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and related shelter-in-place orders. TripAdvisor joins other travel companies like Sonder, TripActions, TravelTriangle, and Fareportal in implementing workforce cuts during this challenging period.

PayJoy, a San Francisco-based lending startup that helps customers without bank accounts or credit histories purchase smartphones on installment plans, laid off 23 employees, representing 25% of its workforce, on April 28. The company, which has raised $71 million in funding, cited the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason, expecting a significant impact on revenue and fundraising despite a strong first quarter. The layoffs, affecting all departments including engineering, were intended to extend the company's financial buffer, with affected employees' last day set for June 30.

Migo representing approximately 25% of its workforce on 2020-04-28.

App Annie, a mobile analytics company, has laid off an unspecified number of employees, estimated by an external source to be around 18% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring effort to ensure self-sufficiency amid the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company described the layoffs as affecting a "small fraction" of its staff, attributing the difficult decision to the unprecedented global outbreak and the need to maintain efficiency in the current macroeconomic climate.

Desktop Metal on 2020-04-28.

Shipsi laid off 20 employees representing approximately 50% of its workforce on 2020-04-28.

In April 2020, digital advertising company OpenX laid off or furloughed 15% of its workforce, primarily through layoffs, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic's expected long-term reduction in marketer spend. The cuts, which also included reduced hours for a small number of employees and 15-20% salary reductions for the leadership team, brought the company's total headcount to just over 200 employees. This represents a significant decline from previous years, as OpenX had already reduced staff in late 2018. The company is realigning its focus toward the demand side of its business, streamlining operations to weather the downturn while continuing to invest in its products for publishers and marketers.

In April 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, robotic process automation (RPA) startup Automation Anywhere laid off approximately 10% of its workforce, affecting hundreds of employees. The company, which provides software to automate repetitive tasks, cited a sharp decline in demand for its traditional on-premise products as customers accelerated their shift toward cloud and hybrid cloud solutions due to the remote work transition. This restructuring aimed to reallocate resources toward these growing market areas. Despite earlier reports of increased product interest during the outbreak, the economic uncertainty led the well-funded startup to reduce headcount as part of broader cost-cutting measures.

JetClosing laid off 20 employees representing approximately 20% of its workforce on 2020-04-27.

In late April, Submittable, a Missoula-based company providing online application management software primarily for universities and other organizations, laid off 30 employees, representing 20% of its workforce. The layoffs affected all departments and were driven by the significant impact of COVID-19, as many of its 2,000 university clients halted operations. The CEO stated that acting sooner allowed the company to provide better severance, with affected employees receiving one to two months of pay. This move reflects the broader challenges faced by tech startups serving the education sector during the pandemic.

Welkin Health, a San Francisco-based healthcare software startup backed by Josh Kushner's Thrive Capital, laid off 10 employees, about one-third of its roughly 30-person workforce, on April 24, 2020, citing a sales decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just three days later, the company was approved for at least $1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which are intended to help small businesses retain staff. This timing raised concerns about the program's integrity, as the layoffs reduced the company to about 20 employees, despite reporting 30 to the SBA. The move contradicted advice from its investor and may risk loan forgiveness, highlighting tensions between startup funding and federal aid meant for vulnerable small businesses.

Lighter Capital laid off 18 employees representing approximately 22% of its workforce on 2020-04-24.

UPshow, a Chicago-based digital signage company in the tech industry, laid off an unspecified number of employees in April 2020 as part of broader workforce reductions impacting the local tech sector due to the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The layoffs were reported amid a period of significant uncertainty, reflecting the pandemic's disruptive effect on businesses, though exact figures regarding the scale of the layoffs and the company's total workforce at the time were not detailed in the coverage.

In April 2020, amid the widespread economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles-based manufacturing startup Divergent 3D laid off approximately 57 employees, representing about one-third of its then 160-person workforce. Founder and CEO Kevin Czinger confirmed the staff reductions were a difficult but necessary step to ensure the company's long-term financial stability and protect its core technology development and customer programs. Operating as an innovative Tier 1 supplier for the automotive and aerospace industries, Divergent 3D developed an additive manufacturing platform aimed at making vehicle production more efficient and less environmentally impactful. The layoffs were a direct response to the enormous uncertainty surrounding the pandemic's duration and economic impact, as the company sought to become as resilient as possible.

Cheddar, the live-streaming news and entertainment outlet owned by Altice USA, has permanently closed its Los Angeles studio and conducted company-wide layoffs, confirmed on a recent Friday. The layoffs, part of a consolidation merging its two networks—Cheddar and Cheddar News—into one, affected an undisclosed number of employees, including West Coast anchor Alyssa Julya Smith. While the exact figures for total employees and percentage laid off are not specified, the move reflects a strategic shift to streamline operations in the competitive digital media industry, focusing on delivering business and cultural news from its New York base. Affected staff are receiving severance and benefits.

Convoy representing approximately 1% of its workforce on 2020-04-23.

Sisense, an Israel-based business analytics software unicorn, laid off 80 employees, representing 9% of its global workforce of 900, with 20 of those cuts occurring at its Israeli headquarters. The layoffs, announced in late April 2020, primarily affected sales and marketing teams and were implemented as a strategic adjustment to anticipated economic slowdowns and lower growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite recent rapid expansion, including hiring 100 new employees, the company cited the need to balance expenditures with income forecasts. Operating in the business intelligence and data analytics industry, Sisense had achieved a valuation of $1.1 billion earlier in the year and reported estimated 2019 earnings of approximately $100 million.

In April 2020, HR tech startup Zenefits laid off approximately 15% of its workforce, affecting an estimated 80-100 employees out of a total of around 578. The company, which provides HR and payroll software for small and medium businesses, cited the severe economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the cuts. CEO Jay Fulcher explained that the crisis forced a re-evaluation and realignment of the business plan, leading to this difficult decision. This move reflected broader job losses across Silicon Valley as the pandemic disrupted businesses globally.

Oscar Health laid off 70 employees representing approximately 5% of its workforce on 2020-04-23.

StockX, the prominent online resale marketplace for sneakers and streetwear, laid off approximately 12% of its workforce in late April 2020, affecting 100 to 150 employees. This reduction came as the company, which had around 800 employees, faced plummeting demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic's economic impact. CEO Scott Cutler cited the need to cut costs and achieve profitability, aligning with broader efforts to prepare for a potential future IPO. The layoffs impacted teams in quality assurance, engineering, product, and operations across its Detroit headquarters and Arizona office, reflecting a significant restructuring during a period of global economic uncertainty.

Clearbit, a San Francisco-based marketing data enrichment company, laid off at least 12 employees across all departments last week. While the exact percentage of its workforce affected is not specified, the layoffs included several engineers based in San Francisco. The move reflects ongoing adjustments within the tech and marketing industries, as companies streamline operations amid broader economic pressures.

Ike laid off 10 employees representing approximately 14% of its workforce on 2020-04-22.

ExtraHop on 2020-04-22.

When I Work laid off 55 employees representing approximately 35% of its workforce on 2020-04-22.

Magic Leap, a prominent augmented reality startup, laid off 1,000 employees last week, representing 50% of its total workforce. The cuts affected all departments, including over 100 engineers primarily based in Florida. This significant reduction is part of a broader trend of large-scale layoffs across the tech industry amid the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.