Layoff Events

Climeworks laid off 106 employees representing approximately 22% of its workforce on 2025-05-21.

Lidar technology company Luminar initiated a new round of layoffs beginning May 15, 2025, as part of a restructuring effort. While the exact number of employees affected in this latest round was not disclosed, it follows significant workforce reductions in 2024, where the company laid off 212 employees, representing about 30% of its workforce. This ongoing restructuring comes amid major leadership turmoil, including the sudden resignation and replacement of founder and CEO Austin Russell following an ethics inquiry. The layoffs are expected to incur additional cash charges of $4 million to $5 million. Luminar, which went public via a SPAC merger in 2021, operates in the autonomous vehicle and transportation technology industry.

Blink Charging, a leading global electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure company, announced a strategic workforce reduction on May 19, 2025, as part of its BlinkForward initiative. The company is laying off approximately 20% of its global workforce to streamline operations, enhance agility, and achieve annualized savings exceeding $11 million. This restructuring aims to strengthen its market position and align resources with long-term growth priorities in the competitive EV industry. The reduction is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2025, with the company providing severance and support to affected employees.

VerSe Innovation, the parent company of DailyHunt and Josh, has laid off approximately 350 employees as part of a strategic restructuring aimed at workforce realignment. The move, announced this month, is intended to accelerate investments in artificial intelligence, streamline operations, and focus on long-term growth priorities. Operating in the media and entertainment industry, this unicorn startup seeks to build a more agile and future-ready organization by automating manual processes and directing resources toward growth segments. The layoffs come amid efforts to achieve profitability by the end of the fiscal year, following recent auditor concerns over internal financial controls, though the exact percentage of total employees affected was not specified.

GroundGame Health laid off 97 employees on 2025-05-15.

Israeli AI startup Noogata has shut down, resulting in the layoff of its entire 10-person team. The company, which had previously employed over 40 people, failed to meet key business milestones and was unable to secure new funding. Founded in 2019 and backed by investors like Team8, Noogata had raised $28 million to develop an AI-powered organizational platform for clients including PepsiCo and Colgate. The closure was announced in May 2025, and the company is now seeking to sell its underlying technology.

Amazon laid off 100 employees on 2025-05-14.

Microsoft laid off 6,000 employees representing approximately 3% of its workforce on 2025-05-13.

Chegg laid off 248 employees representing approximately 22% of its workforce on 2025-05-12.

Match Group laid off 325 employees representing approximately 13% of its workforce on 2025-05-08.

Online gaming company Games 24x7 has laid off approximately 180 employees, representing about 22% of its workforce, which stood at 821 as of October 2024. The cuts, reported in early May 2025, primarily affect permanent staff across offices in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The layoffs are attributed to significant financial pressures, including the high costs associated with sponsoring the Indian Premier League through its fantasy sports division, My11Circle, and the broader industry turmoil stemming from a 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on online skill-based games. The Indian gaming sector, valued around $3.7 billion, is currently facing intense regulatory scrutiny and legal disputes over tax classification, prompting companies like Games 24x7 to reduce operational expenses.

CrowdStrike laid off 500 employees representing approximately 5% of its workforce on 2025-05-07.

OpenText, a Canadian enterprise software giant with approximately 23,000 employees, is laying off an additional 1,600 workers as part of an expanded business optimization plan announced in April 2025. This follows earlier cuts, bringing total net reductions to 2,000 roles. The layoffs are directly tied to the company's strategic shift to an AI-first approach, aiming to generate annual savings of $490-$550 million. CEO Mark Barrenechea detailed a 10-point AI mandate, making AI skills a baseline expectation for all employees and a factor in performance reviews. While cutting jobs, OpenText plans to strategically add back about 1,000 roles in key areas, reflecting a global restructuring to align talent with its AI-driven future.

GenWise, a Z47-backed startup offering an app-based online club for senior citizens, has laid off approximately 20% of its workforce, affecting 15-20 employees across tech, marketing, product, and other departments in early May 2025. The Delhi-based company, which secured $3.5 million in seed funding in 2023, faced challenges after failing to meet growth targets promised to investors. A sharp increase in costs following the rollout of UPI payments, coupled with modest user adoption, created financial strain, prompting these cost-cutting measures. Operating in the elder care tech industry, GenWise claims a community of over 2 million older adults but struggled to balance user growth with operational spending amid a tough funding environment.

General Fusion, a 23-year-old Canadian startup in the fusion energy industry, laid off at least 25% of its workforce in early May 2025 due to a critical cash shortage. This significant reduction occurred shortly after the company achieved a key technical milestone with its LM26 device, which successfully compressed plasma. CEO Greg Twinney cited an increasingly challenging funding landscape, where investors and governments are navigating political and market uncertainties. Despite raising $440 million from notable backers like Jeff Bezos, the company's unique approach to fusion has struggled to prove viability amid intense competition. With competitors like Commonwealth Fusion Systems securing over $2 billion, General Fusion's financial constraints highlight the extraordinary costs and high stakes in the race for commercial fusion power.

In May 2025, Israeli cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct laid off approximately 20 employees, representing about 10% of its 180-person workforce. This staff reduction followed the closure of certain company operations and is part of ongoing strategic and operational shifts. The company, which specializes in deep learning-based threat prevention, had previously undergone a similar round of layoffs and a leadership overhaul in 2023. Deep Instinct, a venture-backed startup with total funding around $300 million, continues to navigate the competitive cybersecurity landscape with a focus on its predictive AI platform.

Log 9 Materials, an Indian EV battery technology startup founded in 2015, has laid off the majority of its workforce amid severe financial distress. While exact figures are not specified, sources indicate hardly any employees remain, following a series of strategic missteps and technology failures. The company, which had raised over $60 million, struggled to adapt to market realities, faced legal battles with customers, and accumulated significant debt. Key decisions around battery chemistry and business models proved unprofitable, leading to the shutdown of multiple facilities and the exit of a cofounder. The layoffs, occurring since last year, represent a dramatic fall for a startup once celebrated as a deeptech leader in India's clean tech industry.

British climate tech startup Beam, which specialized in AI and robotics for offshore wind farm automation, has ceased operations and made all employees redundant as of early May 2025. The company, formed in late 2023 from the merger of Rovco and Vaarst, had over 200 employees and was actively seeking over £100 million in new funding prior to its collapse. This shutdown occurred just months after announcing ambitious expansion plans to hire an additional 200 staff, highlighting the challenging funding environment for climate startups. Beam operated in the renewable energy technology sector and had offices in the UK and the US.

Bench, the accounting and tax fintech startup, conducted a significant round of layoffs in late April or early May 2025, affecting dozens of positions. This represents a substantial portion of its approximately 300-person workforce, with departments like client success and tax services directly impacted, including most of the U.S.-based tax advisory team. The layoffs were implemented by Employer.com, the San Francisco HR tech company that acquired Bench in a $9 million fire sale in December 2024 after the startup burned through over $160 million in funding and shut down. Employer.com cited the difficult realities of turning the business around and addressing legacy issues as the reason for the cuts. The company, which had re-hired most of Bench's staff after the acquisition, had also kept a majority of the workforce on temporary, month-to-month independent contractor agreements while planning to base most operations outside North America.

NetApp, a data storage and management company, is laying off approximately 700 employees, representing about 6% of its global workforce, as part of a strategic reorganization. This move, announced in late April 2025, aims to optimize costs and streamline operations in response to a shifting commercial environment, including the rapid rise of AI and market uncertainties. The company had previously indicated workforce reductions of at least 4% in its fiscal reports, citing sales deal slippage and a need to redirect resources. Facing a slight slackening in revenue growth, NetApp is taking these steps to improve operational efficiency and position itself for long-term sustainability in the competitive tech industry.

Electronic Arts laid off 300 employees on 2025-04-29.

Stem, Inc., a company in the energy storage and software industry, has undergone a significant internal reorganization. While the provided article does not explicitly state a layoff event, it details CEO Arun Narayanan's announcement of a restructuring in Q1 2025. The company is being reorganized into four distinct, financially accountable business units: Software, Professional Services, Managed Services, and OEM Hardware. This strategic shift to enforce strict EBITDA and cash flow accountability for each unit is a common corporate measure that can often lead to workforce reductions to streamline operations and improve profitability, though specific layoff numbers, percentages, or total employee counts were not disclosed in this summary.

Amazon-backed creator startup Spotter has laid off an unspecified number of employees this week, impacting teams across the company. This marks the second round of layoffs for the firm in the last six months, following cuts made in November. The company, which works with top YouTube creators like MrBeast and is also backed by SoftBank, cited the evolving macroeconomic environment and a strategic push to accelerate its path to profitability by year-end as reasons for the restructuring. Founded in 2019, Spotter operates in the creator economy, offering content licensing, AI tools for creators, and an advertising business. The layoffs did not affect its advertising sales team. The move reflects broader challenges in the creator services sector, where some startups have struggled to meet growth expectations.

The consumer hardware startup Tomorrow has permanently shut down, resulting in the layoff of its entire workforce. The company, which was developing an AI-powered refrigerator designed to extend the shelf life of fresh produce, cited an extremely difficult funding environment and headwinds from tariff uncertainty as the primary reasons for its closure. Founder Andrew Kinzer announced the decision in late April 2025, explaining that capital-intensive, science-forward consumer hardware products have become a particularly tough sell for investors. The shutdown reflects the broader challenges within the hardware startup sector, where high costs and complex supply chains, exacerbated by trade policies, can stifle innovation even for ambitious ventures.

Expedia Group is laying off approximately 3% of its workforce as part of a restructuring focused on its product, technology, and finance teams, with most cuts occurring in product and technology. This move, following a similar restructuring of the marketing team in early March, aims to streamline operations and accelerate performance. The job reductions primarily affect mid-level employees, and no leadership changes are associated with this round. As a major player in the online travel industry, Expedia is adjusting its workforce to better align with strategic goals while continuing to hire in other areas.

Cars24, an Indian e-commerce platform for used cars valued at $3.3 billion, has laid off approximately 200-250 employees in late April 2025. This represents a significant workforce reduction, though the exact percentage relative to total employees is not specified. The layoffs, primarily affecting product and technology teams, are a strategic cost-cutting measure. CEO Vikram Chopra explained the decision stemmed from restructuring and over-hiring into premature projects, emphasizing a need for more deliberate growth. This move occurs amidst competitive pressure, as rival Spinny secured major funding, and follows Cars24's own substantial $450 million raise in late 2021. Despite reporting increased revenue of nearly Rs 6,917 crore in FY24, the company continues to operate at a significant net loss.

SambaNova laid off 77 employees representing approximately 15% of its workforce on 2025-04-25.

Meta laid off 100 employees on 2025-04-24.

Intel laid off 22,000 employees representing approximately 20% of its workforce on 2025-04-23.

Insurance-focused SaaS startup Zopper has laid off approximately 100 employees since the beginning of 2025, with the latest round occurring earlier this week. This includes about 50 staff from tech and product teams recently, following an earlier cut of 20 from these teams and the entire 40-member insurance team earlier in the year. The layoffs, attributed to cost-cutting measures, come despite the company raising $25 million in a Series D round just five months prior. Zopper, founded in 2011 and backed by investors like Elevation Capital, provides embedded insurance APIs and has raised a total of $121 million. While its operating revenue grew significantly in FY24, net losses also increased substantially.

AppLovin, a major ad tech and mobile gaming company, laid off 97 employees effective March 21, 2025, as part of an ongoing streamlining effort. This follows a previous round of 89 layoffs in January, with the latest cuts notably affecting leadership at its subsidiary Machine Zone, including the CEO and design director. While the exact percentage of AppLovin's total workforce impacted isn't specified, the company has conducted multiple layoffs over the past year, citing a strategic focus on aligning the business with organic opportunities and improving revenue per employee. The industry-wide adjustments reflect AppLovin's drive to narrow its focus amidst a competitive mobile gaming and advertising landscape.

Turo laid off 150 employees representing approximately 17% of its workforce on 2025-04-16.

Smashing, an AI-powered reading curation app founded by Goodreads' Otis Chandler, is shutting down in April 2025 after failing to scale rapidly enough into a sustainable product. The startup, which had raised $3.4 million, employed seven people who are now affected by the closure. Operating in the competitive consumer tech and news aggregation industry, the small-scale company launched in June 2024 with the goal of using AI and community input to curate content from across the web, but ultimately could not achieve the necessary growth to continue.

Conversational AI unicorn Gupshup has laid off nearly 500 employees over the past several months, including about 300 in December 2024 and another 200 earlier this month, as part of restructuring efforts to improve efficiency and profitability. The company, valued at $1.4 billion in 2021 and backed by investors like Tiger Global, stated these organizational changes aim to drive long-term profitable growth and strengthen its position in the global conversational AI market. While sources indicated the layoffs primarily affected employees from companies acquired between 2021 and 2022, Gupshup disputed this concentration. The firm, which has raised about $484 million, claims a net headcount reduction of 300 over the last 18 months and denies plans for further layoffs.

Sonder, a short-term rental and hotel company, is implementing significant cost-cutting measures, including layoffs, to reduce expenses by $50 million annually. This move comes as the company prepares for its upcoming integration with Marriott's digital channels, expected by the end of June, amid financial challenges and efforts to ensure compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements. The layoffs are part of broader efficiency initiatives within the hospitality industry, though specific numbers of affected employees or percentages were not detailed in the announcement.

Forto laid off 200 employees on 2025-04-12.

General Motors is laying off 500 workers at a factory in Canada due to weak demand for its all-electric BrightDrop vans. The cuts involve eliminating one of two shifts at the CAMI plant in Ontario, and the facility will be idled for 20 weeks starting in May.

Google on 2025-04-11.

Marin Software representing approximately 100% of its workforce on 2025-04-10.

Wing Cloud, an Israeli cloud development startup, has shut down after failing to turn its innovative programming language Winglang into a viable business. The company, which had raised $20 million in seed funding from prominent venture capital and cloud infrastructure leaders in 2023, announced its closure in April 2025. Despite building an enthusiastic open-source community with over 100 contributors, Wing Cloud struggled to convince companies that its developer experience solution was business-critical, ultimately making it impossible to achieve sustainable commercial traction. The shutdown reflects the challenges of monetizing developer tools in the competitive cloud infrastructure industry.

Coho AI, a Tel Aviv-based startup in the AI and SaaS analytics industry, has shut down after nearly four years. The company, which had raised $8.5 million in seed funding, struggled to find a sustainable business model and generate meaningful revenue. As part of a quiet exit in early April 2025, the marketing unicorn Yotpo agreed to integrate several of Coho's employees and cover some shutdown costs, while the company's intellectual property is still being considered for sale. This closure highlights the persistent challenges of turning a visionary product idea into a viable business, even within Israel's experienced tech ecosystem.

Five9 laid off 123 employees representing approximately 4% of its workforce on 2025-04-03.

AI proptech startup Tract, which aimed to address the UK's housing crisis, has ceased operations, resulting in the layoff of its entire team. The company, founded in 2023 and based in London, had raised funding from early-stage VCs but ultimately shut down due to a combination of factors. Founders Jamie Rumbelow and Henry Dashwood admitted to overspending on non-essentials like contractors and a trip to America, alongside facing systemic challenges in the UK housing market and flawed business assumptions. In a blog post on April 3, 2025, they announced the shutdown and expressed intentions to return investors' money, offering their experience as a cautionary tale for other founders in the proptech and AI industries.

Australian data analytics startup WhyHive is shutting down on April 28, 2025, resulting in the layoff of its entire team. The Melbourne-based company, which had raised a $600,000 pre-Seed round in 2023, described its platform as making data analysis as accessible as Canva does for design. Despite initial backing from notable investors, the founders announced the decision to cease operations less than two years after the funding round, citing an inability to achieve sustainable growth and product-market fit in the competitive tech startup landscape.

Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, Tumblr, and WooCommerce, laid off approximately 281 employees, representing 16% of its workforce, on April 2, 2025. The company, which had about 1,744 employees prior to the cuts, cited the need to become more agile and responsive in a competitive and fast-evolving technology market. CEO Matt Mullenweg stated the restructuring aims to break down inefficiencies, focus on product quality, and ensure long-term financial viability. This move follows a tumultuous period for the company, including a controversial legal battle with hosting provider WP Engine. The layoffs affected staff across 90 countries, who were offered severance packages and job placement assistance.

Canva, the Australian design software giant, has conducted its first known round of layoffs, letting go of the majority of its technical writing team in late March 2025. The move follows a company-wide directive issued nine months earlier for employees to aggressively adopt AI tools to boost productivity. The technical writing division reportedly embraced this mandate so effectively that their roles became redundant, as AI could handle much of the work. While the exact number of affected employees was not disclosed, the cuts are a significant shift for the fast-growing start-up, which had previously avoided such workforce reductions. The layoffs highlight the ongoing impact of AI integration across the tech industry, even at successful, scaling companies.

Foodtech giant Zomato has laid off approximately 600 employees from its customer support team, a move driven by performance reviews, restructuring, and an increasing shift toward AI automation. These job cuts, occurring less than a year after many were hired under a specific program, reflect broader pressures as the company navigates slowing growth in food delivery and intense competition in quick commerce. The layoffs, reported in early 2024, highlight the industry-wide trend of leveraging technology to streamline operations and reduce costs in the competitive foodtech sector.

2U on 2025-03-31.

Northvolt, the Swedish battery manufacturer once hailed as Europe's contender against Chinese dominance, has laid off more than half of its workforce as it navigates bankruptcy. Following its Chapter 11 filing in the U.S. and subsequent bankruptcy proceedings in Sweden, the company is reducing its Swedish operations from about 4,500 employees to just 1,700, a cut of over 60%. Specifically, at its Skellefteå gigafactory, nearly 3,000 workers will be pared down to 1,200. The layoffs, announced by bankruptcy trustee Mikael Kuba in late March 2025, aim to maintain minimal operations to facilitate a potential sale of the business. Northvolt's downfall stemmed from falling behind on battery orders and depleting its cash reserves, despite having raised $13 billion from major investors like Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs. The company, which had attracted talent from global tech giants, now sees its skilled workforce becoming a target for other Swedish industrial projects in the region.

Palantir laid off 120 employees on 2025-03-27.