Layoff Events

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.

Pipedrive laid off 31 employees on 2020-05-05.

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.

Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing company operating across the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan, laid off 536 employees on May 5, 2020, representing 31% of its total workforce. The drastic cuts were a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused government lockdowns and severely reduced demand. The company's core ride-hailing business plummeted by up to 90% in some markets, with overall business down 80%, leading to rapidly multiplying losses. To conserve cash and ensure survival, Careem made the difficult decision to reduce its largest cost—people—while pausing further investments. The CEO stated that a full recovery to pre-crisis business levels was not expected until late 2021.

Trivago, a major online travel comparison platform, is implementing significant layoffs as part of organizational restructuring. This move comes in direct response to the severe financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a catastrophic drop of over 95% in its crucial referral revenue in late March 2020. The company, heavily reliant on advertising revenue from clicks sent to partners like Booking Holdings and its parent Expedia Group, is cutting costs to survive the unprecedented downturn in global travel. While the exact number of employees affected was not specified in the announcement, the headcount reductions are described as substantial, highlighting the profound crisis facing the travel industry.

Element AI, a prominent Canadian artificial intelligence startup based in Montreal, laid off 15% of its workforce in April 2020 as part of a restructuring effort to reduce costs and meet investor expectations. The company, which had grown to 500 employees after raising significant funding, reduced its staff to 350. This downsizing followed challenges in commercializing its AI technologies and transitioning proofs-of-concept into broader sales, leading to lower-than-expected revenue. Concurrently, Element AI hired its first chief financial officer and chief revenue officer to strengthen its leadership team. The layoffs reflect the company's shift from rapid expansion to a more sustainable operational model amid scrutiny over its high spending and "burn rate."

Curefit laid off 800 employees representing approximately 16% of its workforce on 2020-05-04.

Veriff, an Estonian secure identification verification startup, is laying off 63 employees, a surprising move given the company's recent growth during the pandemic. Founder Kaarel Kotkas explained that while demand surged in the U.S. and Europe, manual verification processes in markets like Africa collapsed, affecting over 100 staff in that sector. The layoffs come as Veriff, which expanded from 20 to over 300 employees last year, aims to achieve profitability. The announcement was made in April 2020, amid the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

In May 2020, Deputy, a venture-backed software platform for shift workers, laid off 30% of its staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic's severe impact on its business. The company, which had been valued at $423 million, saw the hours worked by its 2 million users halve as lockdowns and restrictions disrupted industries reliant on shift work. Facing this sharp decline, the company re-prioritized its operations to navigate the crisis and prepare for eventual recovery.

Fintech firm Oriente reduced its workforce by 20% in a series of layoffs beginning in the fourth quarter of 2019 and continuing into 2020. The cuts, announced in early May 2020, were part of a broader restructuring effort, though the exact number of employees affected and the total company headcount were not specified. The move reflects the challenging economic conditions and strategic adjustments faced by many companies in the fintech industry during that period.

Toronto-based B2B SaaS startup Loopio has laid off 11 employees, constituting 8% of its workforce, due to economic pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic. The cuts, announced in mid-2020, affected sales, marketing, software development, and people operations teams. CEO Zakir Hemraj cited a significant slowdown and increased scrutiny in software purchasing decisions across industries, leading to deferred deals and a strategic shift in the company's growth and hiring plans. Despite the layoffs, Hemraj noted strong customer retention and sustained interest in Loopio's enterprise proposal management platform, which serves over 800 companies. The firm, founded in 2014 and backed by $11 million in funding, is exploring government relief programs while navigating the temporary market downturn.

Israel-based retail analytics company Trax has laid off 120 employees, representing 10% of its 1,200-person global workforce, as announced in early May 2020. The layoffs, affecting 34 workers in Israel and 87 internationally, were a direct response to financial pressures exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. CEO Joel Bar-El described it as a "sad day," explaining that despite significant growth in 2019—including five acquisitions and a doubling of staff—the company is not yet profitable and relies on investor funding. The cuts aim to align expenses with its financial position and burn rate, ensuring the company's stability amid the crisis. Trax, a retail tech firm valued at $1.1 billion, develops image recognition solutions for inventory management and operates in over 50 countries.

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.

Indian hospitality startup OYO, valued at $10 billion and backed by SoftBank, is laying off 150 to 200 of its roughly 300 UK employees, representing a reduction of 50-67% of its workforce there. The company, which operates a platform for booking budget hotel rooms, announced the redundancies in late March 2020, citing the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. UK chief Rishabh Gupta stated that hotel occupancy had plummeted by 80%, forcing the company to align costs with drastically reduced revenue. This move came just weeks after the CEO had assured staff of minimal layoffs, highlighting the rapid and severe economic shock caused by the global health crisis.

In May 2020, the Sequoia-backed travel startup Flynote, based in Bengaluru, laid off over 90 employees from its total workforce of 130, representing more than 69% of its staff. This drastic reduction was a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing nationwide lockdown, which devastated the travel and tourism industry. The company cited a severe lack of funds, having nearly depleted the ₹14 crore raised in 2019, and was forced to make permanent layoffs to stay afloat. Notifications were sent via email in early April, with the layoffs effective from March 31, 2020. While co-founders claimed to have paid most salaries and set up a customer refund fund, some employees reported missing March salaries and a lack of severance. As a consumer-facing travel startup offering customized tour packages, Flynote exemplifies the severe impact the pandemic had on early-stage ventures in the sector.

Monese, a UK-based fintech company, has closed its AltFi news division after a decade of operation, resulting in layoffs for the entire AltFi team. The closure, announced by the company, was driven by severe financial headwinds over the past 18 months, despite strong journalism and brand loyalty. AltFi had been a trusted source covering the fintech industry's growth, including challenger banks and startups. The shutdown reflects broader challenges in the media and fintech sectors, impacting staff who contributed to the platform's community and coverage.

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

Culture Trip, a travel media startup, plans to lay off nearly half of its UK workforce, proposing 95 redundancies out of approximately 240 employees in the UK, following similar cuts in its New York office. The layoffs, announced in early May 2020, are a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacting the travel industry. The company, which had raised over $100 million in funding, stated the cuts were necessary to manage costs and protect the business long-term. Employees expressed frustration over the handling of the layoffs, with the content team in London being particularly hard-hit, set to lose 64 out of 85 staff members.

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.

In April 2020, the Dubai-based ghost kitchen startup Kitopi laid off 124 employees in New York City, citing the severe business impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, which had only expanded into New York in late 2019, stated the layoffs were due to "unforeseeable business circumstances" and the need to suspend operations amid the global crisis. While the exact percentage of its total workforce affected is not specified, the cuts occurred shortly after Kitopi secured $60 million in funding to expand in the U.S. This move reflects the broader turmoil in the hospitality and food delivery industry during the pandemic, where even rapidly growing startups faced difficult restructuring decisions.

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.

South African fintech startup Yoco is laying off an impactful number of employees to ensure sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic, as thousands of its clients face over 90% revenue losses. While the exact number of layoffs and total workforce aren't specified, the company's management has taken salary cuts and is conducting substantial retrenchments, prioritizing the retention of its technical, maker, and product teams. Co-founder and CTO Lungisa Matshoba described the decision as a prudent, structured, and generous move taken early to maintain flexibility and uphold company principles, despite the difficulty of parting with talented team members. The layoffs aim to focus energy on supporting struggling customers and securing the startup's future in the fintech industry.

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 late April, London-based food delivery startup Deliveroo laid off 367 employees, representing 15% of its workforce. The cuts impacted multiple departments across its global operations, including offices in London, Dubai, and Taipei. While the company did not specify detailed reasons, the layoffs are widely seen as a response to the broader challenges in the food delivery sector, including persistent unprofitability and the economic pressures from the pandemic on restaurants. Deliveroo, which operates in 13 markets, has since promoted a talent directory to help affected employees find new opportunities.

On March 28, 2020, Nigerian fintech and microfinance bank Renmoney laid off 391 direct sales agents, representing half of its staff. This significant workforce reduction was a strategic response to the economic challenges and lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted field sales operations. The CEO cited a strategic change in business conduct, moving away from an in-person sales model. This move was part of a broader trend among African tech startups, including salary cuts and furloughs, to conserve cash and ensure survival during the anticipated recession stretching into early 2021.

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.

OYO laid off 500 employees on 2020-04-25.

Stoqo laid off 250 employees representing approximately 100% of its workforce on 2020-04-25.