Layoff Events

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.

Israeli fintech company Personetics has laid off 30 employees, representing 8% of its 350-person workforce. The layoffs occurred in early January 2023, as the company, which provides AI-driven personalization tools for banks, navigated a broader tech sector downturn. This reduction came approximately a year after Personetics secured $85 million in growth funding from Thoma Bravo, bringing its total funding to $160 million within a ten-month period. The firm, operating in the competitive financial technology industry, cited the need to adjust its team size amidst challenging market conditions.

Compass on 2023-01-05.

Attentive, a leading SMS marketing company serving thousands of retailers, has laid off 15% of its workforce. Based on its reported 1,300 employees as of September 2022, this amounts to approximately 195 people. The company confirmed the cuts in January 2023, citing the need to ensure durable future growth amid a challenging economic environment. This move is part of a broader wave of layoffs across the e-commerce and tech sectors, as inflation and tightened consumer spending lead brands to reduce their own expenditures, directly impacting B2B service providers like Attentive.

On January 5, 2023, digital identity verification company Socure laid off 104 employees, representing nearly 19% of its peak workforce. The company, which had over 550 employees prior to the cuts, cited softer demand from key market verticals like fintech, gaming, and crypto, alongside a broader economic slowdown. This followed a previous reduction of 69 employees in mid-2022. CEO Johnny Ayers explained the layoffs resulted from aggressive hiring in 2021 just before the economic downturn, prompting a strategic shift to focus on core product innovation and enterprise growth with leaner teams in 2023. The company is providing benefits and outplacement support to affected staff.

Israeli textile technology company Twine Solutions laid off 30 employees in early January 2023, which represented about one-third of its total workforce. The company, which develops digital, waterless dyeing systems for thread and yarn, cited the need to streamline operations and preserve its activity during a challenging economic period and industry-wide recession. This restructuring followed a $28 million funding round in 2021, bringing its total raised to over $50 million.

Augury, an Israeli-American unicorn startup specializing in AI-powered mechanical diagnostics, is laying off 20 employees, representing 5% of its workforce. The company, which employed around 400 people, announced the cuts as part of its strategic plan for 2023, aiming to streamline operations while focusing on doubling its revenue. Despite the layoffs, Augury, valued at over $1 billion following a $180 million funding round in late 2021, plans to continue hiring in alignment with client needs. The move reflects broader adjustments in the tech industry amid economic uncertainties.

Salesforce laid off 8,000 employees representing approximately 10% of its workforce on 2023-01-04.

Butterfly Network, a company in the advanced medical equipment and technology industry, announced a significant workforce reduction on January 11, 2023, as part of a plan approved by its Board of Directors to improve efficiency, reduce operating expenses, and extend liquidity. The layoffs affected approximately 25% of the company's total employees, though the exact number of employees laid off was not specified in the announcement. The company estimated it would incur between $5 million and $6 million in cash charges primarily for severance and benefits, with most costs expected in the first half of 2023. This restructuring reflects broader challenges in streamlining operations within the competitive medical tech sector.

Vimeo, the video hosting and sharing platform, laid off 11% of its workforce in early 2023 as part of a broader restructuring effort. This follows a previous 6% reduction in July 2022. The decision, driven by a need to achieve sustainable profitability amid a deteriorating economic environment with rising interest rates and recession fears, aims to refocus the company on its core priorities: re-accelerating self-serve growth and doubling down on Vimeo Enterprise. The layoffs affected nearly every region and department, with the majority of impacted roles in Sales and R&D, as the company streamlines to operate more efficiently and control its destiny independent of broader market conditions.

Wyre representing approximately 100% of its workforce on 2023-01-04.

Astronomer, a data orchestration platform company, laid off 76 employees, representing over 20% of its workforce, in January 2023. The company's leadership, including Scott Yara, acknowledged the decision stemmed from scaling the team too aggressively across all functions before the go-to-market strategy and adoption patterns for its cloud product, Astro, were fully established. This premature expansion, fueled by significant capital raises, led to a necessary restructuring to simplify the organization and refocus the business. The layoffs were part of a difficult organizational change aimed at ensuring long-term sustainability in the competitive tech industry.

On January 4, 2023, Israeli video cloud platform Kaltura announced its second round of layoffs within six months, dismissing 75 employees, which represents 11% of its workforce. This includes 39 employees in Israel. Following a previous 10% reduction in mid-2022, the company, which had 758 employees at the end of 2021, is streamlining to save $16 million annually. Kaltura cited the need to adapt to lower demand and reduced organizational budgets in its market segment amid a challenging macroeconomic environment. The NASDAQ-listed company, providing video management systems primarily to businesses and media companies, expects the reorganization to be completed in the first half of 2023, incurring $1 million in pre-tax costs.

Amazon laid off 8,000 employees representing approximately 2% of its workforce on 2023-01-04.

Bytedance representing approximately 10% of its workforce on 2023-01-03.

Pegasystems laid off 245 employees representing approximately 4% of its workforce on 2023-01-03.