📉 Topic
How they handled layoffs. Opposed = cut staff hard, poor notice or severance. Supported = avoided cuts or handled them generously.
251
Opposed
25
Mixed
0
Silent
29
Supported
As HubSpot CEO, Yamini Rangan announced two major layoff rounds: 500 employees (7%) in January 2024, and 660 employees (7%) in October 2026, totaling over 1,160 job cuts. The 2026 layoffs involved restructuring with fewer management layers as HubSpot shifted strategy toward AI. Rangan stated the layoffs were not driven by "AI efficiencies" but by the need to "reshape ourselves to be more agile."
Seismic conducted layoffs in the Highspot merger integration. CEO Rob Tarkoff told GeekWire in September 2026: "We did our best to try to find roles for everybody that we could, but there's always some level of overlap where you don't need two people doing a task that requires one." When the deal closed, Highspot had over 700 employees and the combined company had about 1,700 total. Job cuts emerged on LinkedIn as role overlaps were eliminated.
ContractPodAi's workforce dropped dramatically from approximately 314 employees in mid-2024 to 115 by September 2026—a 63% reduction. The team is down 16% year-over-year as of 2026. The London-based legal AI company, backed by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Insight Partners, underwent significant restructuring as it pivoted from contract lifecycle management (CLM) to its "Leah Agentic OS" platform for AI agents across legal, procurement, and finance.
Chime laid off ~150 employees (10% of workforce) in July 2026, just over a year after its June 2025 Nasdaq IPO at $27/share ($11.6B valuation, down from $25B in 2021). CEO Chris Britt cited AI-driven efficiency and the need for "smaller teams with fewer layers." The cuts targeted technology and operations staff. The layoffs came days before Q2 2026 earnings and amid three federal class-action lawsuits alleging inadequate cybersecurity after an April 2026 data breach and outage.
Patreon laid off 93 employees (20% of workforce) in July 2026, the company's largest cut since 2022. CEO Jack Conte cited "market changes" over the prior 6 months while insisting the core business remained "healthy and strong." Conte wrote that AI "fundamentally transformed the tech industry" but clarified Patreon was "not making the above changes because we believe AI replaces humans." Affected employees received 16+ weeks severance plus one week per year worked.
Lime has recovered from 2020 layoffs (14% or ~100 employees cut plus 13% in April 2020) and filed for IPO in May 2026 on Nasdaq. The company reported revenue of $886.7 million in 2025 (29% YoY increase), operates in 230+ cities across 29 countries, and served ~17 million riders in 2024. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are serving as lead underwriters.
Redwood Materials laid off 135 employees (10% of workforce) in April 2026, its second round in five months after cutting 5% in November 2025. CEO JB Straubel wrote that "parts of the company have expanded faster than needed" with cuts spanning engineering and operations. Laid-off workers received severance, health benefits, and career transition support. COO Chris Lister and VP of Integrated Supply Chain Bradley Mayhew departed amid the restructuring.
Deno Land Inc. laid off a significant portion of its workforce in March 2026, with multiple employees announcing departures on Bluesky. One former employee noted being "laid off from Deno in July" before the company was acquired by Cloudflare in October 2026. The $21M Series A-funded company struggled with its Deno Deploy service, which faced "highly inconsistent isolate start times" even after its January 2026 general availability launch. CEO Ryan Dahl did not issue a public statement about the layoffs.
Apollo.io conducted layoffs in March 2026, cutting approximately 100 employees (12.5% of workforce). The layoffs occurred during what was reported as "the worst month for tech job layoffs since 2024," with over 38,000 tech employees losing jobs industry-wide. Apollo.io had achieved $150M ARR by mid-2025 and was growing toward $200M by early 2026, but still reduced its workforce from approximately 1,600 employees in 2024 to around 850 by late 2026—a 47% reduction over two years.
CAVA announced plans to hire 2,500 workers and open 75 new restaurants in 2026, a growth strategy contrasting with industry-wide cost-cutting. The company's stock rose approximately 1.7% following this announcement. While "many chains have cut staff this year to guard profits, CAVA is doing the opposite," which investors view as a growth signal. The company promoted more than 3,500 workers in 2025, suggesting internal mobility and retention focus. CAVA surpassed $1 billion in revenue in 2025, opening 72 net new restaurants and donating over $1 million to local communities.
Advent International cut 700-800 jobs (15% of workforce) at portfolio company Sapiens within weeks of completing its $2.5 billion acquisition in late 2024. The layoffs, scheduled for January 2026, hit India and the US hardest (10% reduction each), while Israel saw a 5% cut. Advent's "100-day plan" approach typically involves workforce reductions of about 10%, consolidation of departments, and shifting operations to lower-cost countries. CEO Roni Al-Dor was ousted and headquarters relocated from Israel to London.
Supercell reduced staff in its North American studios since late 2025, with Steve Desilets (co-founder of a U.S. branch) confirming the company "decided to cancel the game his studio was working on and disband the project team." Separately, after fully acquiring Space Ape (150 employees) in November 2024, approximately 70 staff joined Supercell London while 30 were laid off in February 2025. Metacore (acquired by Supercell in May 2026) also laid off 159 employees, closing German and Swedish offices.
When Clio acquired vLex for $1 billion in November 2025, CEO Jack Newton stated vLex's entire workforce would join Clio with no significant redundancies or layoffs anticipated. Newton characterized the acquisition as bringing "a net new set of capabilities and a unique set of team members pursuing a highly complementary and non-overlapping mandate." Clio grew from approximately 1,000 to 1,800 employees between 2024-2026 while raising its valuation to $5 billion.
Handshake laid off 96 employees (15% of US workforce) in October 2025 as part of an AI pivot. CEO Garrett Lord called it a "refounding" moment, launching Handshake AI to connect academic experts with AI labs for model training. The company's AI unit scaled from 15 to 150 employees rapidly. Affected roles included software engineers, recruiters, marketers, and senior managers. VP of People Camila Ribeiro stated "We regret the need to implement this layoff."
Farmers Business Network underwent major restructuring in 2024-2025. The company spun off its global crop solutions business as it pursued a "pure technology platform" strategy, exited Australia and Canada, and eliminated business lines including seed, livestock, and fertilizer. CEO Diego Casanello stated the company "became leaner." FBN cycled through four CEOs: co-founder Amol Deshpande (until Feb 2023), John Vaske (until Nov 2023), Devin Lammers (interim), and Casanello (from March 2024).
1Password conducted multiple rounds of layoffs in 2024-2025. Employees describe "mass layoffs over email" with affected workers "still in shock." Reviews cite "several rounds of layoffs, sudden changes to the organization, and a complete lack of transparency." In October 2025, CTO Pedro Canahuati and CRO Julian Teixeira both departed the company. Sales and revenue growth slowed dramatically, putting the company in "performance management mode."
xAI laid off 500 employees (one-third of its 1,500-person data annotation team) on September 13, 2025. Internal emails announced an immediate "strategic pivot" away from general annotators toward specialist AI tutors. The layoffs followed the abrupt departures of CFO Mike Liberatore in July 2025 and co-founder Igor Babuschkin in August 2025.
Conducted "silent layoffs globally" through 2024-2025 where employees were terminated abruptly without warning. Multiple rounds of layoffs affected employees across the organization, with increased AI investment cited as factor. Filed S-1 for IPO in August 2025 showing $616M revenue but $170M net loss in first half 2025. Went public September 2025 at $7.26B valuation after 27-day SEC review.
Announced 150 staff layoffs in August 2025 via pre-recorded video, drawing criticism for the impersonal approach. Cuts affected customer service roles "exposed to AI," with some potentially being replaced by AI. A second round in March 2026 cut 10% of workforce (approximately 1,600 people) to fund AI and enterprise sales. CEO stated: "The bar for what 'great' looks like for software companies—on growth, on profitability, on speed, on value creation—has gone up."
Following China's tech crackdown starting late 2020, Tencent staff declined from 108,436 in 2022 to 105,417 in 2023. Reports indicate Chinese tech giants including Tencent run "stealth layoffs," pressuring employees to quit rather than firing outright through forced reassignments and impossible performance targets, avoiding formal severance packages. Workers over 35 disproportionately affected, facing "career downgrades" when trying to re-enter job market.
Sweetgreen laid off 10% of open and existing support center team roles in early Q3 2025. CEO Jonathan Neman announced the cuts during the Q2 earnings call in August 2025, stating they were intended to "constrain losses." The layoffs accompanied the discontinuation of Ripple Fries and came amid a 7.6% same-store sales decline in Q2 2025. The chain's operational losses hit $26.4 million with a negative 14.2% operating margin. Earlier in 2022, Sweetgreen had laid off 5% of support center staff while shrinking real estate.
Oversaw 15,000+ layoffs while receiving $96.5M compensation. Wrote memo addressing "enigma" of cutting jobs amid record profits. Called decisions "weighing heavily on me."
Despite facing multiple copyright lawsuits and industry headwinds, Runway continued growing through 2024-2025 without layoffs. The company raised $315 million in June 2025 at a $5.3 billion valuation, actively expanded its workforce, and continued hiring across engineering and creative roles. Runway has not announced any layoffs or workforce reductions since its founding in 2018, maintaining steady growth through the AI boom period.
Vista Equity Partners plans to cut up to one-third of its workforce through AI automation, CEO Robert Smith announced in 2025. The $100B+ firm expects to replace operational positions, junior analysts, and investor relations workers with AI tools. Vista directly employs 700 people and its portfolio companies collectively employ 10,000. The firm is "scoring" portfolio companies on AI adoption.
PsiQuantum secured $1 billion in funding in June 2025—the largest funding round for a quantum computing startup—enabling continued workforce growth rather than cuts. The company has approximately 500-1,000 employees with 16% growth over 12 months and 95 active job openings as of 2026. PsiQuantum announced government-funded projects for utility-scale quantum computers in Brisbane, Australia and Chicago, Illinois in 2024.
Xanadu expanded its U.S. workforce more than five-fold since 2023, with distributed presence now spanning 19 states. The company opened a new office in Albany, New York near semiconductor research infrastructure. CEO Christian Weedbrook stated the growth reflects "the talent and strategic partnerships we have built across the semiconductor and technology industries." Xanadu partnered with suppliers including Corning, Applied Materials, DISCO, and EV Group, and anticipated continued significant U.S. headcount growth through 2026.
Climeworks laid off 106 employees (22% of workforce) in May 2025, with 78 positions cut in Switzerland. Co-founders Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher cited macroeconomic uncertainty and shifting climate policy priorities. The cuts came as President Trump's administration pulled back support for carbon-cutting projects, leaving the company's $600M Louisiana plant in limbo.
Devoted Health laid off approximately 120 employees on May 19, 2025, affecting 5% of its 2,460-person workforce. A company spokesperson described the cuts as "normal rightsizing" but they came after revenue and membership declined in 2025 for the first time since launching Medicare Advantage plans in 2018. The company stated cuts were "in line with our ongoing commitment to dramatically improving the health and well-being of older Americans."
Sendbird's workforce dropped from approximately 400 employees at its peak to 170 by 2026—a 57% reduction. The $1.1B-valued chat API company had raised $100M+ at unicorn status but conducted multiple layoff rounds as it pivoted from communications infrastructure to an "AI customer experience platform" in 2026. Layoff tracking data shows the company's most recent confirmed round was in May 2025. The company repositioned around AI, rebranding its AI Agent to delight.ai while maintaining its core Sendbird messaging platform.
Ironclad avoided the mass layoffs that hit most tech companies during 2022-2024. Employee headcount dipped slightly to 530 in Q1 2024 (down from 574 in 2022) before recovering to approximately 774 employees by 2026—a 42.5% increase over three years. In April 2025, incoming CEO Dan Springer cited Ironclad's "steady growth rate" as key to accepting the role. The company crossed $150M ARR and 2,000 customers while maintaining workforce stability through a period when peers cut thousands of jobs.
Bolt conducted four rounds of layoffs from 2022-2025, shrinking from thousands of employees to approximately 100. In May 2022, the $11B-valued checkout startup cut 240 employees (30%). January 2023 saw 10% more cuts, December 2023 another 30%. By April 2025, founder Ryan Breslow (back as CEO) attributed the cuts to "AI investment." A company that once employed thousands was reduced to roughly 100 workers.
Mercury avoided layoffs during the 2022-2024 tech downturn while achieving 10 consecutive quarters of GAAP profitability. CEO Immad Akhund told TechCrunch the company reached $500M in revenue in 2024, growing to $650M in 2025 with approximately 1,100 employees and 300,000 customers. Akhund stated: "We've never had layoffs and we've been really thoughtful about hiring."
Plenty Unlimited dramatically reduced its workforce from a planned 300 employees to just 66 by the time of its March 2025 bankruptcy filing. The company closed its South San Francisco facility in 2023 and its Compton, California facility in December 2024, slashing 50 employees in South San Francisco and 100 in Compton. The company that raised nearly $1 billion from investors including Jeff Bezos and SoftBank halted expansion at its Virginia facility in November 2024 amid liquidity issues.
Alibaba Group reduced its workforce by 34% in 2025, cutting over 66,000 employees as part of a strategic reset to focus on AI and cloud computing. Headcount dropped from 194,320 to 128,197 in one year. A large portion of the reduction followed Alibaba's exit from offline retail (selling Sun Art Retail Group and Intime). The company's quarterly profit plunged 67%. Separately, dozens of employees at Yuanjing (Alibaba's metaverse unit) were laid off as hype in the sector cooled.
Wise laid off 307 employees and closed its Tampa, Florida office, announced February 7, 2025. Terminations began April 8, 2025, with the office closing in November 2025. Affected roles included 43 due diligence senior agents, 40 customer support specialists, and 37 customer support associates. A Wise spokesperson framed the move as "strengthening collaboration across its teams as its business rapidly expands." The company stated: "We know this personally impacts our Wisers, especially in Tampa, and our immediate priority is to support each of our affected teammates during this time." Americas operations consolidated to Austin, New York, and São Paulo.
Laid off ~5,000 employees in 2025 including 1,000 in February and 4,000 support roles attributed to AI automation.
Thoma Bravo portfolio companies conducted mass layoffs following acquisitions. Olo cut staff for the third time in three years after Thoma Bravo's $2B takeover closed in January 2025. Verint laid off hundreds immediately after its take-private deal closed, with Thoma Bravo planning to merge it with Calabrio. Proofpoint cut 6% of its workforce post-acquisition. A pattern of operational tightening follows their buyouts.
In January 2025, Icon Technologies laid off 114 employees—over 25% of its workforce—according to a WARN letter filed with the Texas Workforce Commission, effective March 8, 2025. The Austin-based 3D-printed home construction company cited need to "re-align priorities" and focus on its Phoenix robotic printer development. Icon has a $57 million NASA contract but struggled to scale commercially after completing a 100-home community with Lennar outside Austin.
Checkout.com laid off 230 employees (nearly 25% of workforce) in early 2025 due to revenue losses and the end of its partnership with Binance over money laundering concerns. Revenue dropped 14% to $212.2M in 2023, and gross profit fell 23%. The company had previously cut ~80 employees in December 2023 and ~100 in September 2022. Despite this, Checkout.com reached profitability by end of 2024 and announced a $12B valuation share buyback in September 2025.
Buildkite avoided layoffs during the 2022-2025 tech downturn while maintaining approximately 150 employees across 10 time zones. The company continued hiring for engineering, product, and operations roles throughout the period. CEO Keith Pitt sees the company's remote-first structure as enabling access to global talent without the overhead of physical offices. Buildkite remains independently funded after raising $81M total, including a $28M Series B in 2021.
Customer.io avoided layoffs during the 2022-2024 tech downturn while growing to approximately 420 employees. More than half the team joined in the past year during rapid expansion. The company received Inc 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 recognition in 2024, indicating continued growth trajectory. Customer.io achieved $100M+ ARR as a bootstrapped-to-profitable company, demonstrating sustainable growth without the venture-backed pressure that drove layoffs at peers.
Calendly laid off 70 employees (approximately 13% of workforce) in December 2024 as part of a reorganization. The cuts impacted engineering, customer experience, marketing, and billing teams. CEO Tope Awotona announced the layoffs via internal memo obtained by Business Insider. This followed a previous round of 60 layoffs in July 2023. Shane Murphy-Reuter was hired as President of GTM the same month. By June 2026, Calendly appeared on PitchBook's "fallen unicorns" list as reported by CNBC.
USDC stablecoin issuer Circle laid off approximately 6% of its workforce (under 53 employees from 882 headcount) in December 2024. The company cited operational restructuring focused on AI initiatives and global expansion. Circle joins cryptocurrency companies announcing Q4 2024 layoffs, though its cuts appeared driven by efficiency rather than financial distress. The company had $155.7 million net income on $1.7 billion revenue in 2024. Circle launched its IPO on June 5, 2025, targeting a $4-5 billion valuation.
People.ai underwent leadership transition when founder and CEO Oleg Rogynskyy was replaced by Jason Ambrose (formerly SVP of Marketing and Strategy). The company's workforce dropped from approximately 400 at its peak to 215 employees by 2025—a 46% reduction. While specific layoff announcements weren't publicized, Comparably data shows 25% of employees expressed concerns about layoffs and 14% "regularly feel insecure" at work. Revenue grew modestly from $55.6M ARR in 2023 to $62.8M in 2024 despite the cuts.
Hopper laid off 30% of staff (~250 employees) in October 2023 as the Montreal-based travel company pushed for profitability. CEO Fred Lalonde said "the world has changed, money is no longer free." This was followed by another 10% cut (~60-65 employees) in November 2024 after Expedia resumed supplying hotels to Hopper, making the direct hotel team redundant.
Outreach conducted four rounds of layoffs between February 2023 and November 2024, totaling approximately 285 employees: 70 (7%) in February 2023, 50 (5%) in August 2023, 100 (12%) in September 2023, and 65 (9%) in November 2024. CEO Manny Medina blamed "lower demand due to layoffs across the tech sector" since the software operates on a per-user basis. Medina stepped down as CEO in September 2024.
Bowery Farming laid off 187 workers and shut down operations in November 2024, filing for Chapter 7 liquidation after failing to secure new funding. The once $2.3B-valued company (backed by celebrities Natalie Portman and Justin Timberlake) conducted multiple layoff rounds in 2023 and closed facilities in Arkansas, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Internal documents cited a "leaf-eating pathogen" outbreak and failed acquisition talks.
Consensys laid off over 160 employees (20% of workforce) in October 2024, citing macroeconomic headwinds, regulatory uncertainty, and costly legal battles with the SEC. CEO Joseph Lubin stated the company needed to "reshape ourselves to be more agile, more effective, and even higher-performing." This was the third major round since early 2023: 11% (96 employees) in January 2023, 20% (160+) in October 2024, and 7% (49 employees) in early 2025. Laid-off employees received "generous severance packages."
Flexport's October 2024 layoffs came via CEO Ryan Petersen memo stating the company "still had work to do" on growth and profitability goals. The company reduced workforce by 2% focused on management and fulfillment roles. Petersen indicated the cuts would position Flexport for "a successful next few years of profitable growth."
Miro laid off 18% of its workforce (approximately 275 employees) in October 2024. CEO Andrey Khusid cited structural issues, stating: "Our internal organizations have become too complex, we have too many layers, some duplications in roles, and candidly, we're not set up to execute on our strategy with the speed and flexibility that success will require." This followed a 7% cut (119 employees) in February 2023.
Fly.io laid off approximately 40 employees in September 2024, cutting DevRel and growth teams to extend runway past 2026. All affected employees received 4 months severance. Co-founder Thomas Ptacek called it "a reconfiguration of the company" rather than distress cuts, noting "Everyone we let go was doing great work."
In August 2024, Amazon hired Covariant's three co-founders (Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, Rocky Duan) and approximately 25% of its staff (~40 employees) in a $380 million "reverse acquihire" deal. Mass layoffs followed immediately, reducing the company from 160+ employees to approximately 20, mostly overseas. The Emeryville headquarters was emptied within months. A whistleblower filed complaints with the FTC, SEC, and DOJ in January 2025 alleging the deal was structured to evade antitrust scrutiny, characterizing Covariant as a "zombie company."
In August 2024, following Google's $2.7 billion deal to hire co-founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas plus 20% of staff to DeepMind, Character.AI laid off at least 5% of its remaining ~120-person workforce. The layoffs primarily affected marketing and recruiting roles as the company refocused on personalized AI development. The DOJ opened a formal antitrust investigation by mid-2025 into whether the deal structure was designed to avoid merger scrutiny.
VTS cut 20% of its workforce in August 2024 after multiple rounds of layoffs in 2023 (approximately 15% in March 2023, then 40% of engineering in August 2023). A company spokesperson stated they wanted to ensure "growth is strategic and that resources are allocated in the best way possible." VTS had raised $125M from CBRE in 2022 and acquired Rise Buildings ($100M) and Lane ($200M), but struggled with hybrid work trends reducing commercial real estate demand.
Lacework's workforce shrank by nearly 35% from its June 2022 peak to early 2024 without formal layoff announcements. Fortinet acquired Lacework for $152.3M in August 2024 — a 98% valuation drop from its $8.3B peak in November 2021. Failed acquisition talks with Wiz reportedly fell through during due diligence. Post-acquisition, Lacework contributed $31.1M revenue and $45.8M net loss to Fortinet in 2024.
In July 2024, Dorsey sent an internal memo warning a major Block reorganization would feel "big and disruptive or uncomfortable," restructuring Square, Cash App, and other divisions. Block also conducted smaller layoffs throughout 2024 as Dorsey narrowed company focus to Bitcoin and core payments products. Dorsey has acknowledged the difficulty of workforce reductions without the extensive public communication Stripe or Airbnb have used.
Postman slashed 62% of its workforce in May 2024, reducing headcount from approximately 800 to 300 employees in one of the most aggressive startup restructurings in Indian tech history. In July 2024, the API platform let go of the entire JSON Schema and AsyncAPI teams, sending shockwaves through the developer community. Glassdoor reviews describe "rounds of layoffs for a year" with management "blaming the impacted teams for the company's failures." The company had significantly overbuilt during 2021 funding exuberance.
Upside Foods conducted multiple layoff rounds as the cultivated meat industry faced headwinds. In February 2024, the company made "selective role eliminations" while pausing its Chicago production facility. In July 2024, CEO Uma Valeti announced 26 more employees would go, citing the need to "reduce top-heavy structures." The layoffs came as Florida banned cultivated meat sales and venture capital dried up for the sector. Valeti said "our focus must now narrow to a tighter set of priorities."
BeReal laid off 28 employees just weeks after Voodoo acquired the company for €500 million in June 2024. The cuts affected nearly half the company's 60-person workforce, hitting iOS/Android engineers, backend engineers, QA, and marketing roles. COO Romain Salzman said layoffs were "mostly part of a refocus on France/Europe-based talents." CEO Alexis Barreyat was replaced by Wizz CEO Aymeric Roffé.
In June 2024, Amazon hired Adept AI co-founders David Luan, Augustus Odena, Maxwell Nye, and Erich Elsen—plus approximately 80% of its ~100-person team—in a deal that also licensed Adept's technology. The arrangement left roughly 20 employees to continue operating under new CEO Zach Brock. Investors who put $414M into the company reportedly recovered only roughly their principal from the deal.
Laid off 23% as ChatGPT destroyed homework help business. Stock crashed 98% from peak.
Gopuff cut ~600 employees (6% of global staff) in May 2024 focused on U.S. corporate workforce, seeking profitability by year-end. This followed four prior layoff rounds in 2022 alone (3%, 1,500, and 250 employees across three rounds). The company shrank from 15,000 to under 10,000 employees after raising $4B+ from investors including SoftBank and Fidelity.
Dialpad conducted layoffs in February 2023 and May 2024 per layoff tracking data. The $2.2B AI-powered business communications company eliminated positions across multiple departments while maintaining overall headcount growth. TrueUp tracked 2 layoff events at the company during this period. The cuts came as the UCaaS sector faced consolidation pressure despite Dialpad's $418M in total funding.
Beehiiv has avoided layoffs while growing from 70 employees in November 2023 to 252 by April 2026. The newsletter platform raised $33M in funding and doubled its ad sales team, hiring former LiveIntent executive Andrew MacMannis as VP of Ad Sales. CEO Tyler Denk projects revenues nearly doubling to $50M in 2026. The company expanded headcount while competitors in the creator economy faced cuts.
Yuga Labs, creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club, executed layoffs in October 2023 and April 2024. CEO Daniel Alegre (former Activision Blizzard CEO) led the October 2023 cuts as part of a pivot to metaverse gaming; the company had ~120 US employees after. In April 2024, co-founder Greg Solano returned as CEO and announced additional layoffs, stating "Yuga lost its way" and the company was struggling under "labyrinthine corporate processes." Bored Ape NFTs had lost ~90% of value from 2022 peak.
Stability AI laid off approximately 20 employees (~10% of its ~200-person workforce) in April 2024, weeks after founder and CEO Emad Mostaque resigned on March 22, 2024 citing strategic disagreements. The cuts largely affected operational staff as interim co-CEOs Shan Shan Wong and Christian Laforte restructured the company amid reports of an $8M/month burn rate and a failed $4 billion fundraising attempt.
Laid off 5% (600+) in 2024. Cancelled games. GTA 6 delays. Zynga integration cuts.
Agility Robotics laid off employees in April 2024, which the company described as "a small number of employees that were not central to core product development and commercialization." External reports indicated up to 150 employees (20% of workforce) were affected. The layoffs coincided with major leadership changes including new CEO Peggy Johnson (former Microsoft executive), a new CTO, and new COO, signaling a strategic shift toward commercialization of its Digit humanoid robot.
ByteDance's Lark cut over 1,000 employees in March 2024, representing nearly 20% of its 5,000-person workforce. CEO Xie Xin announced the cuts would reduce team size by one-third from its peak. Despite reaching $200M+ ARR in 2023, leadership cited organizational inefficiency, stating the team "is not lean enough." Affected employees received compensation or transfer opportunities.
In March 2024, Microsoft hired Inflection AI co-founders Mustafa Suleyman and Karén Simonyan plus most of Inflection's roughly 70-person team, paying $650M ($620M for model licensing, $30M to waive legal claims). The arrangement effectively dissolved the startup's workforce; a rump team under new CEO Sean White pivoted to an enterprise AI assistant product. Investors who backed Inflection at a $4B valuation in 2023 reportedly recovered roughly their principal.
Palantir has avoided the mass layoffs seen at peers, maintaining ~3,700 employees through 2024-2025 as its stock surged 340% on AI and defense contract growth. However, the company has historically had high voluntary attrition tied to its intense culture and controversial government work — with CEO Karp openly acknowledging employee departures over his pro-Israel stance.
Form Energy laid off 200 employees (15% of workforce) in March 2024, primarily affecting research and development roles. The layoffs came amid broader industry challenges and economic pressures. In February 2025, the company announced additional restructuring affecting fewer than 5% of employees at its Weirton, West Virginia facility. CEO Mateo Jaramillo communicated the restructuring via email to employees.
Laid off 18,500+ employees (13% of workforce) since 2023. Multiple rounds of cuts. "Organizational streamlining" amid PC market decline.
PlanetScale laid off team in 2024. Database company struggling despite technical excellence.
Lucid laid off 18% in 2024. Luxury EV company struggling with production.
Gong laid off 80 employees (~7% of workforce) in 2024 across Customer Success, Sales, and G&A functions. CEO Amit Bendov stated "The company is growing, but less than we forecast last year." This followed a prior round where 15 employees were let go three months earlier. Despite layoffs, Gong crossed $300M ARR in January 2025, up 28% YoY.
Laid off 6% (670+) in 2024. Cancelled games including Apex Legends mobile. Andrew Wilson cost cutting.
Addition portfolio company Vacasa, the vacation rental management platform, conducted significant layoffs in 2023-2024. In January 2023, Vacasa eliminated approximately 1,300 positions (17% of workforce) across local operations and central teams. In February 2024, Vacasa approved a second workforce reduction eliminating 320 additional positions (5% of workforce). Addition, founded by former Tiger Global partner Lee Fixel, is known for growth-stage investments but several portfolio companies faced headcount reductions during the 2022-2024 tech downturn.
Fireblocks laid off 20 employees (3% of team) in February 2024, the second round of layoffs after parting with ~30 employees in February 2023. The company restructured go-to-market and customer support operations. Despite cuts, Fireblocks grew to 998 employees in 2025 (18% YoY increase) and acquired U.S. wallet platform Dynamic for $90M.
Laid off 2,500+ employees in 2024. Multiple rounds of cuts since 2023. Focus on cost reduction and AI transformation.
Laid off 9% (1,500+) in 2024. CEO Ariane Gorin cutting costs. Travel recovery slower than expected.
QuantumScape laid off 15% in 2024. Solid-state battery company cutting costs.
Cut jobs in February 2024 under new CEO Ron Hovsepian to "drive better efficiencies" and focus on most profitable areas. Previously laid off 150 staff in 2023 and 80 employees across Boston, Memphis, and remote locations. Company averaged layoffs every 18 months as leadership pivoted strategies repeatedly. Focused remaining resources on Marketplace grain platform and carbon credit business.
In February 2024, announced 400 employee layoffs (7% of workforce), almost exactly one year after cutting 300 employees (5%). McKinnon stated: "While we've taken steps in the right direction, the reality is that costs are still too high." Combined with 2023 cuts, eliminated ~12% of peak workforce. The company faced ongoing fallout from October 2023 security breach that affected outlook and required $60M legal settlement. Offered minimum 13 weeks severance and extended healthcare.
Noom conducted four rounds of layoffs between 2022-2024. In October 2023, the weight loss app cut 500 workers (10% of staff), primarily coaches. In January 2024, more coaching and engineering roles were eliminated. The company blamed competition from GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and a "revenue mix shift" as its traditional Healthy Weight program lost customers to its newer Noom Med prescription service.
Laid off 1,900 employees (8%) in January 2024 after Microsoft acquisition. Cut Blizzard and King studios. Second wave in 2024.
Laid off 530 employees (11%) in January 2024. Cut Legends of Runeterra, Forge, and other projects. First major layoffs.
Brex cut 20% of staff (282 employees) in January 2024 after an earlier 11% cut (136 people) in October 2022. Co-CEO Pedro Franceschi said company "grew too quickly and created too many layers of management." Laid-off employees received eight weeks severance plus two weeks per year of service, six months subsidized COBRA coverage including mental health, and waived one-year equity cliff. The Information reported Brex burned $17M monthly in Q4 2023.
Cut 20% of workforce (282 employees) in January 2024, the second major round after October 2022's 11% (136 employees). Co-CEO Pedro Franceschi cited over-hiring and excessive management layers. The Information reported the company burned $17M monthly in Q4 2023 with runway only through March 2026. The cuts "contributed to a lot of the savings" that halved burn rate. Brex reached approximately 1,100 employees by 2026.
Laid off 13% (1,750+) in January 2024. Third round of mass layoffs. CEO Niraj Shah cutting costs.
Greenhouse laid off approximately 100 employees (12%) in April 2023 and 48 more in January 2024—two layoff rounds in under a year. The company had raised $528M at a $5.2B valuation. The January cuts were described by employees as handled coldly with no public CEO statement and instructions not to disclose layoffs to clients.
Coalition disbanded an internal sales team in January 2024, with US-based account executives and business development staff sharing on LinkedIn that their roles were cut. A Coalition spokesperson stated: "No, Coalition did not conduct layoffs. A very small number of positions were eliminated after disbanding an inside sales team, or in following with our annual performance review process." Employee reviews on Blind describe the practice as "layoffs disguised as PIPs" with "a ton of layoffs" through performance improvement processes.
SoFi laid off approximately 300 employees (7% of workforce) in January 2024, despite being a big winner in the stock market in 2023 with shares gaining 116%. The cuts primarily affected engineering roles. The company had reported "record adjusted net revenue" of $531 million in Q3 2023 but also posted a net loss of $19.5 million. SoFi previously laid off employees from its technology unit in January 2023 (under 5% of staff) as the student loan moratorium pressured revenue.
Pitch laid off two-thirds of its workforce (69 employees, reducing from approximately 180 to 40 staff) in January 2024. CEO Christian Reber stepped down, stating: "I am very sorry that this happened and I take full responsibility." The company returned unspent venture capital to investors and pivoted from hyper-growth to profitability focus. Laid-off employees received at least 3 months severance. This followed a 30% cut (59 employees) in September 2022.
No major layoffs. Continued hiring through tech downturn. CEO Bill McDermott focused on growth and employee retention.
Pushed portfolio companies to cut costs in 2022-2023. But provides support for laid-off founders and employees.
No major layoffs at Nvidia. Rapid hiring as AI demand explodes. Opposed to layoffs as management tool. Employee retention focused.
No significant layoffs during tech downturn. Continued hiring. CEO Olivier Pomel focused on growth.
No major layoffs. Continued hiring in cybersecurity market. Zero trust security demand strong.
Cloudflare no major layoffs. Matthew Prince maintained workforce through downturn.
Wiz rapid growth but some restructuring. Israeli cybersecurity unicorn. Google acquisition talks.
Databricks laid off some staff in 2024 despite strong growth. IPO preparation costs.
Redwood Materials no major layoffs. Battery recycling company growing. JB Straubel Tesla alum.
Sila Nanotechnologies maintained team. Battery materials company growing.
Felicis Ventures advised portfolio on costs. But not aggressive like larger VCs.
IVP traditional approach. Less aggressive than growth VCs on portfolio restructuring.
Israeli cybersecurity company Checkmarx, acquired by Hellman & Friedman at $1.15 billion valuation in March 2020, laid off around 100 employees including 40 in Israel—10% of its workforce. H&F ranked 13th among world's largest PE firms in 2024. Private equity takeovers broadly associated with job losses and wage decreases; advocates have called for PE firms to commit to severance of at least one week per year of employment.
Despite the broader tech industry layoff wave of 2022-2024, Descript did not appear in major layoff trackers or news coverage. The AI-powered audio/video editing company continued developing its platform and expanding features. Co-founder Andrew Mason (former Groupon CEO) has maintained a lean operation focused on product development. The company raised $100M in Series C funding and has continued hiring across engineering and product roles through 2024.
OpenSea laid off approximately 50% of its workforce in November 2023 as part of "OpenSea 2.0" restructuring. CEO Devin Finzer announced the cuts on X, stating the company needed to "change how we operate — shifting to a smaller team with a direct connection to users." This followed a July 2022 cut of 20% (reducing staff from ~280 to 230). After this round, as few as 100 employees remained. Affected staff received 6 months healthcare and 4 months severance.
Wholesale marketplace Faire laid off 20% of its staff (approximately 250 employees) in November 2023, affecting engineering, product, design, and data science teams. A spokesperson said the company "restructured to better align its teams with its long-term vision." This followed a 7% cut in October 2022.
Clari conducted multiple layoff rounds between 2023-2024. In February 2023, 80 employees (10% of workforce) were cut. In September 2023, another 139 employees (20%) were laid off with WARN notices filed for Sunnyvale workers. Following the Salesloft merger, 76 more employees were cut. Glassdoor reviews describe "endless silent layoff" and "ongoing silent layoffs every quarter—employees are constantly left wondering if they'll be next."
Flexport conducted multiple layoff rounds: 20% (~640 employees) in January 2023, another 20% in October 2023, totaling 1,300+ workers cut. CEO Dave Clark was ousted after one year; founder Ryan Petersen returned and blamed Clark for "overspending and overhiring." Revenue fell nearly 70% in H1 2023. Six executives hired by Clark were dismissed.
Chainalysis cut approximately 150 employees (15% of its 900-person workforce) in October 2023, the second round in 2023 after a 5% cut in February. CEO Michael Gronager attributed the layoffs to "market conditions." The majority of cuts came from marketing and business development teams focused on the private sector, as the company shifted focus toward more stable government contracts. Chainalysis was valued at $8.6B in 2022 before the crypto market decline.
Laid off 830 employees (16%) in September 2023. CEO Tim Sweeney admitted spending beyond means. Sold Bandcamp.
Divvy Homes conducted three rounds of layoffs within 12 months. In September 2022, the rent-to-own startup cut 12% of staff (40 people) citing rising interest rates. February 2023 saw another round hitting senior roles including the head of growth marketing. In September 2023, 94 more employees were cut including the chief legal officer, VP of compliance, head of design, and head of brokerage. WARN filings documented 199 workers affected across 17 notices. By late 2023, the $2B-valued company was reduced to roughly 100 employees.
Getir cut 2,500 jobs (11% of its 23,000-person workforce) in August 2023 across Turkey, UK, Germany, Netherlands, and USA after exiting Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The company described the decision as made "with a heavy heart" but necessary to "increase operational efficiency." This followed an earlier round of mass redundancies in March 2023 after acquiring rival Gorillas.
Laid off 1,000+ in Max streaming merger. Content wiped from platforms. Writers/actors strikes.
Jasper AI laid off an undisclosed number of employees in July 2023, less than 9 months after raising $125M at a $1.5B valuation, as ChatGPT competition eroded demand for its AI writing tools. The company also revised its 2023 ARR forecast down by at least 30% and cut its internal valuation by roughly 20%. Co-founder and CEO Dave Rogenmoser stepped down in September 2023 and was replaced by former Dropbox president Timothy Young.
Built Technologies conducted two rounds of layoffs in 2023. In February, the Nashville-based construction fintech laid off 8% of its workforce amid what CEO Chase Gilbert called a "rapidly changing business climate." In July, the company cut another 27 employees (10% of workforce). Multiple employees posted about the layoffs on social media. Built shifted from hypergrowth to "efficiency-first growth" and now operates with what it describes as "a leaner, disciplined operating cadence."
Niantic laid off 230 employees (about 25% of workforce) in June 2023 and shut down its LA studio. CEO John Hanke's memo admitted "we have allowed our expenses to grow faster than revenue" after COVID boom faded. The company cancelled NBA All-World and Marvel: World of Heroes games. In August 2023, 100+ more workers were cut. In April 2025, after selling Pokémon GO to Scopely for $3.5 billion, the new Niantic Spatial spin-off laid off 68 more employees. Hanke said the business would reshape into "a startup organisation."
Culture Amp laid off 8% in 2023. Employee engagement platform restructuring.
Highspot laid off 25% of its workforce across two 2023 rounds: ~100 employees (10%) in February and ~140 employees (15%) in June. CEO Robert Wahbe said cuts were needed to "accelerate the company's path to profitability." The Seattle-based sales enablement company had raised $250M at a $3.5B valuation. In August 2026, Highspot merged with Seismic, with post-merger layoffs reported in September 2026 due to role overlap.
Francisco Partners has established a pattern of post-acquisition workforce reductions. After acquiring Sumo Logic for $1.7B in May 2023, the data analytics firm cut 8% of staff within a month. Jamf executed two layoff rounds (6% each in January and July 2024) totaling 332 employees before Francisco Partners acquired it for $2.2B. New Relic conducted 200+ layoffs just before its $6.5B acquisition by Francisco Partners and TPG. Critics note PE firms "tapped senior operating partners to serve as CEO shortly after close and carried out steep layoffs."
In June 2023, Zapier laid off approximately 100 employees (10% of workforce) despite being profitable and cash flow positive. CEO Wade Foster cited "different competitive challenges" and the emergence of AI/LLMs requiring investment shifts. The layoffs drew criticism because Zapier had previously "bragged about not doing layoffs when everyone else was." Employee reviews describe it as "a shock to longer-tenured coworkers who previously lauded Zapier's approach" and its "defaulting to transparency, including the likelihood of layoffs."
Animoca Brands conducted layoffs in 2023 during the crypto downturn, reducing the target size of its metaverse fund from $2 billion to $800 million. Employee reviews criticized management for "trimming headcount while leaving an expensive and underperforming C-suite intact" as "rearranging deck chairs." The company later expanded, opening a 28,000 sq ft Hong Kong office in October 2024.
dbt Labs laid off 15% of staff (66 employees) in May 2023 after a January 2023 cut of 7 employees. CEO Tristan Handy called 2023 "a challenging year for many within the software space." The company offered 12 weeks severance, 3 months COBRA, equity vesting cliff removal, and 1-year exercise extension. By 2025, dbt Labs had recovered to 869 employees with net-new ARR more than doubled versus 2024.
KKR-backed Envision Healthcare filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, 2023, five years after KKR's $10 billion leveraged buyout. In the months before filing, Envision laid off 167 New York employees in March, 90 Florida employees in April, and 162 Pennsylvania workers in May. The bankruptcy wiped out KKR's $3.5 billion stake and eliminated $7 billion in debt. Despite the failure, the KKR fund that owned Envision "still had a net annualized return of 19%."
Nuro conducted two rounds of layoffs in 2023: 20% (300 employees) followed by another 30% (340 employees) as it paused commercial expansion and pivoted to technology licensing. Co-founders admitted the company "grew too quickly" during the pandemic. The company rebounded in 2025 with a $203M raise at $6B valuation and a 20,000-robotaxi partnership with Uber.
Took responsibility for over-hiring in 2023 layoffs (20% cut). But continued aggressive cost cuts in 2024. Sold logistics business.
Four rounds of layoffs between June 2022 and January 2026: 30 employees (June 2022), 198 employees/14% (October 2022), 128 employees/11% (April 2023), and 90 employees (January 2026). CEO Peter McKay wrote that "challenging market conditions are likely to persist into early 2024." Over 350 employees—a quarter of the workforce—were cut across these rounds.
Kajabi conducted layoffs affecting approximately 10% of the company (30-35 employees) in April 2023, per layoff tracking data. The creator platform also saw significant executive departures: CMO Brad Matthews, CTO Mahesh Gurusawamy, and Chief Strategy Officer David Lennie all left within 18 months of the cuts. The layoffs came during a broader creator economy funding drought that hit companies like Patreon and Thinkific.
Benchling, the life sciences R&D software platform valued at $6.1B, laid off 74 employees (9% of workforce) in April 2023. The cuts primarily impacted the marketing team. Founded by MIT students in 2012, Benchling had filed for IPO in late 2021. Former employees cited "massive over-hiring during high growth phase" and "overambitious goals and targets" when macroeconomic factors hit their SaaS customer base. No additional layoffs reported through 2024.
On March 31, 2023, Airbyte laid off approximately 50 employees, representing 20% of its workforce. The layoffs were attributed to financial constraints, operational challenges, technical debt, architectural problems, and competitive pressure. Roles in engineering and customer support were particularly affected. Headcount has continued declining through attrition, from approximately 150 in 2024 to around 130 in 2026.
In March 2023, Anchorage Digital laid off 20% of its staff (75 people), citing uncertain crypto regulatory landscape and macroeconomic challenges. The layoffs came during a rough stretch for crypto-friendly banking as Silvergate, Signature, and SVB all shut down around the same period. In 2026, the company laid off another 17% (approximately 68 jobs based on 400-person workforce) as CEO Nathan McCauley cited ongoing cost pressures across the crypto industry.
Laid off 13% of workforce in 2023. CEO Shay Banon announced cuts despite Elasticsearch popularity.
Real estate unicorn Roofstock conducted two major layoff rounds as mortgage rates rose: 20% in October 2022 and 27% in March 2023, reducing headcount roughly 47% from peak. CEO Gary Beasley cited "challenging macro environment" and "negative impact" on business. Employee reviews from 2024 describe "massive layoffs twice a year" with "lack of direction and focus." One employee reported surviving seven layoff rounds before the eighth "got me."
Dapper Labs executed three major layoff rounds between November 2022 and July 2023: 22% (134 employees) in November 2022, 20% (94 employees) in February 2023, and 15% (51 employees) in July 2023. The company grew from 100 to over 600 employees in less than two years before the NFT market collapsed, with trading volume dropping 97% from January 2022 peak. CEO Roham Gharegozlou cited the need to restructure amid the crypto winter. By April 2024, headcount had shrunk further to fewer than 180.
Laid off 10% in February 2023, then 6% more in 2024. Multiple rounds of cuts despite profitability.
Impossible Foods conducted multiple layoff rounds: 6% in October 2022, then 20% (100+ employees) in February 2023 including 20+ scientists, a dozen engineers, and 12+ researchers. A February 2023 filing with California EDD documented 132 job cuts. Glassdoor reviews through 2025 describe "constant layoffs every 6 months or so." The cuts came as alternative meat sales dropped 14% industry-wide.
In February 2023, announced workforce reduction of up to 10% due to "new budgetary realignments." Dohmke told staff cuts were "necessary to protect the short-term health of our business while also granting us the capacity to invest in our long-term strategy." Simultaneously announced GitHub would go fully remote, citing "very low utilization rates" in offices, planning to close all offices as leases expire. Extended laptop refresh cycles and migrated to Microsoft Teams for cost savings.
Affirm laid off 19% of its workforce in February 2023 during BNPL market downturn. Levchin stated on earnings call: "This is the right decision. We hired a larger team than we can sustainably support." In a letter, acknowledged earlier aggressive hiring "was a deliberate decision: the product opportunities were too compelling to ignore" but Federal Reserve rate increases "negatively impacted" growth. Company also exited cryptocurrency business.
Eric Yuan laid off approximately 1,300 employees (15% of Zoom's workforce) in February 2023, stating "I am accountable for these mistakes." He reduced his own salary by 98% and forewent his bonus while executive team cut salaries 20%. In February 2024, Zoom cut another 150 employees (2%), with reports indicating some cuts targeted DEI roles specifically. Yuan told employees unhappy with RTO mandates to "leave the company." Total headcount dropped to 7,438 by January 2026.
Monday.com laid off 6% in 2023. Israeli work management platform cutting costs.
RingCentral laid off 10% in 2023. Cloud communications company cutting costs.
Fivetran conducted two rounds of layoffs within four months: 63 employees (5% of staff) in October 2022, followed by 156 employees (12% of staff) in February 2023. In total, the company cut 219 positions as the data integration platform shifted from rapid expansion to cost reduction amid the broader tech downturn. The layoffs came despite the company's $5.6 billion valuation and represented a significant reversal from its aggressive hiring in 2021-2022.
Olive AI conducted mass layoffs before its total shutdown. In July 2022, the healthcare automation startup cut 450 employees (35% of workforce). In February 2023, another 215 employees were laid off. CEO Sean Lane acknowledged the company's "fast-paced growth and lack of focus" had strained resources. The $4B-valued unicorn burned through more than $800 million in funding but failed to achieve sustainable profitability before winding down entirely in October 2023.
Tonal cut 35% of its workforce (approximately 260 employees) in July 2022 after scaling from 110 pre-COVID to 750 employees. CEO Aly Orady cited macroeconomic climate and supply chain challenges, prioritizing profitability over growth. A second round of layoffs followed in January 2023, affecting data science, design, and engineering roles. The company offered 8 weeks severance, health benefits, and extended stock vesting. Tonal also shut down its LA studio.
Laid off 7% (250+) before IPO in 2023. More cuts in 2024. Fidji Simo cost cutting.
Satya Nadella laid off 10,000+. Xbox gaming cuts. LinkedIn restructuring. But handled better than peers.
Attentive, the SMS marketing platform valued at nearly $6 billion in 2021, laid off 15% of its workforce (approximately 195 employees from ~1,300 total) on January 6, 2023. The company stated: "Many of these employees were instrumental in the growth of Attentive, and we thank them for their contributions. While this was an incredibly tough decision, we have taken these actions today to ensure our business can deliver durable growth in the years to come."
Laid off 10% of workforce (8,000 employees) in January 2023. Benioff blamed "over-hiring."
Philippe Laffont pushed portfolio companies to cut costs aggressively in 2022-2023.
Advised portfolio companies on cost cuts during downturn but not aggressively.
Coatue Philippe Laffont pushed aggressive cost cuts. Growth at all costs then crash.
D1 Capital hedge fund approach. Portfolio company cuts during drawdown.
Ramp's expense management approach under Glyman helped clients avoid workforce reductions. According to company reports, several companies during the pandemic said "the savings Ramp delivered were the difference between layoffs and keeping people employed." The company's core value proposition of helping businesses "achieve more with less" became critical during 2022-2023. Glyman told CNBC: "Our core value proposition went from a nice-to-have to truly the difference between whether you would exist or not."
Outschool laid off 43 employees (25% of staff) in December 2022, following an 18% cut in July 2022. CEO Amir Nathoo wrote: "The truth is the layoffs in our sector are widespread for a reason. The funding atmosphere has been dramatically impacted by the anticipation of a recession, higher interest rates and an increased need to show ROI to investors." He acknowledged: "I didn't anticipate that our growth would slow as dramatically as it has. This is on me." Co-founder Nick Grandy also departed. The company had raised $240M and reached a $3B valuation just 12 months prior.
CircleCI laid off 17% of staff—approximately 102 employees—on December 7, 2022. CEO Jim Rose announced the cuts via company-wide email. The layoffs came just two weeks before CircleCI disclosed a major security breach that began around December 21, 2022. One affected employee noted on Hacker News that the cuts did not appear to be due to "current financial woes." The $1.7B-valued CI/CD company later conducted additional layoffs in August 2023 and January 2024, bringing total cuts to over 200 employees across three rounds.
In December 2022, Plaid CEO Zach Perret announced laying off 260 employees (20% of workforce), with all affected workers "instantly locked out of Plaid systems." Perret acknowledged the move "may seem abrupt" but deemed it necessary "given the sensitive nature of data." He took responsibility: "I made the decision to hire and invest ahead of revenue growth, and the current economic slowdown has meant that this revenue growth did not materialize as quickly as expected."
After DoorDash acquired Wolt in June 2022 for $8.1B, the combined company laid off 1,250 employees (6% of workforce) in December 2022. The layoffs impacted Wolt workers including talent recruiters and sales trainers. CEO Tony Xu blamed aggressive pandemic hiring, writing "our operating expenses, if left unabated, would continue to outgrow our revenue." Affected employees received 17 weeks of severance and healthcare through March 2023. Wolt had contributed 3,700+ employees to DoorDash's headcount at acquisition.
Fired 80% of workforce after acquisition. From 7,500 to ~1,500 employees. Mass terminations via email. Sued by laid-off workers.
Iterable conducted layoffs in November 2022 during the broader tech industry downturn. The marketing automation platform, valued at $2 billion, subsequently experienced significant executive turnover. Despite the 2022 cuts, Iterable rebounded by 2023, surpassing $200 million in annual recurring revenue and being named to Citizens JMP's Hot 100 privately held software companies list in March 2024.
Laid off 100 workers (30% of workforce) in October 2022, reducing headcount from 300 to above 200 employees. CEO Austin Allison cited declining luxury second home prices, rising interest rates, and concerns about a global recession. A second round of approximately 100 more layoffs followed in January 2023.
In August 2022, Calm laid off 90 employees—20% of its 400-person workforce. CEO David Ko wrote in a memo: "I can assure you that this was not an easy decision, but it is especially difficult for a company like ours whose mission is focused on workplace mental health and wellness." He added: "We as a company are not immune to the impacts of the current economic environment." The cuts followed Calm's acquisition of Ripple Health Group. Downloads had dropped 30% year-over-year as the COVID-19 pandemic receded. The company was valued at $2B.
In August 2022, Medium's new CEO Tony Stubblebine laid off 29 employees (30% of staff) from operations, marketing, design, and creator relations just three weeks after taking over from founder Evan Williams. Stubblebine explained the reasoning behind letting go of employees was to reshape the company after growth slowed. This followed a 2017 layoff of 50 employees (one-third of workforce) under Williams when Medium pivoted away from advertising. By late 2023, Medium had ~80 employees, down from 100 at the CEO transition.
Next Insurance laid off 150 employees in July 2022, approximately 17% of its workforce. Most affected positions were in the U.S., with about 40 employees based in Israel. The company stated: "It was a very difficult decision, but we are reducing the workforce to adapt to the worsening macroeconomic environment." The cuts came despite raising $250 million at a $4 billion valuation just 16 months earlier and being on track for $800+ million in annual sales.
Whoop laid off 15% of its workforce (approximately 95 employees from 630+ staff) in July 2022, citing "current macro environment" challenges. Chief Product Officer Ben Foster was among those impacted. Less than six months later in January 2023, Whoop cut another 4% (22 employees), primarily from Whoop Unite, its B2B corporate health solution. Total layoffs affected 118 people across two events. Despite cuts, Whoop reached $10B valuation by 2026.
Reed Hastings Netflix "keeper test" culture. Laid off hundreds in 2022. High performance expectation.
Ro laid off 18% of staff (around 135 employees from 750 total) in June 2022 despite having raised $150M just months earlier at a $7B valuation. CEO Zachariah Reitano told employees cuts were to "manage expenses" and "better map our resources to our current strategy." Laid-off workers received two months severance plus healthcare, but received no transition period citing "patient privacy obligations." The layoffs impacted most of the recruiting team.
MasterClass cut 20% of staff (~120 employees) in June 2022, the third layoff round in eight months. CEO David Rogier cited "the worsening macroeconomic environment." Cuts affected all teams including a chief product officer, two VPs, and two dozen senior roles. The celebrity-instruction company continued restructuring through 2024-2025 with what employees described as "perpetual layoffs."
Laid off 10% (700+) in 2022, more in 2023-2024. Swedish BNPL company slashing costs before IPO.
Sequoia "RIP Good Times" memo in 2008. Pushed portfolio companies to cut aggressively in 2022-2023.
a16z advised portfolio companies to extend runway through layoffs. Ben Horowitz encouraged mass cuts.
Tiger Global pulled back from funding 2022-2023. Portfolio companies faced pressure.
SoftBank Vision Fund pushed portfolio to cut costs after WeWork disaster. Aggressive restructuring.
Laid off 15-20 employees in August 2021, mostly senior product marketers, after CMO Chris Pick resigned. Business Insider reported the cuts included "almost all of the senior product marketers." Company later appointed Steve Daheb as new CMO in November 2021. At the time Tanium was assessing IPO readiness at $9B valuation. Pattern of marketing leadership departures and restructuring continued.
Laid off approximately 730 employees following Greensill Capital collapse and SoftBank's May 2021 refusal to invest additional capital. Filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy June 6, 2021 with 6,400 remaining employees from peak of over 8,000. Had raised nearly $3B but "was unable to generate a profit." Class action lawsuit by 700 former employees alleged WARN Act violations for failing to provide 60-day notice.
Laid off 25% (4,400+) during COVID. Some returned but not all. Netherlands-based giant.
Conga laid off 11% of its staff in June 2020 following the $715 million Thoma Bravo-backed merger with Apttus. The layoffs affected employees primarily in Professional Services, Customer Success, Sales, and Sales Engineering. By 2021, 40% of Conga's global workforce (725 employees) was based in India, representing 75% of its engineering team, as the company shifted operations offshore after the deal closed.
Rappi laid off 6% of its workforce in 2020 (~300 employees based on 5,000 total staff), less than a year after SoftBank invested nearly $1 billion. The cuts came as food delivery companies faced pressure to find a financially viable business model. In Brazil alone, 150 employees were let go as iFood competed for market share. The company later reached break-even for the first time in late 2023.
Silver Lake-backed Endeavor conducted layoffs affecting up to one-third of its 7,500-person global workforce in 2020, with cuts manifesting as layoffs, reduced pay for reduced hours, and furloughs. Silver Lake has been majority owner of Endeavor since the 2014 merger of WME and IMG. In 2024, Endeavor posted a Q1 loss and burned through nearly $400 million in cash. Silver Lake completed its take-private deal in March 2025, with executive chairman Patrick Whitesell departing afterward.
In November 2019, Docker sold its struggling enterprise business to Mirantis, transferring approximately 230 employees. Layoffs followed in December, affecting close to 100 employees worldwide. Mirantis later required employees to accept 20% pay cuts to prevent further layoffs. Docker shrank from ~1,000 employees at peak to under 300 before rebuilding. The company recovered by focusing on developer tools, raising $105M at a $2.1B valuation in 2024.
Providence Equity's portfolio company USIS, acquired in 2007 for $1.5 billion, faced massive workforce cuts after losing federal contracts due to quality failures. The company conducted background checks on Edward Snowden and the Navy Yard shooter and was accused of "dumping" incomplete cases. OPM terminated USIS's largest contract in 2014. By 2015, USIS had laid off over 2,500 employees and eventually ceased operations entirely, devastating the Falls Church, Virginia workforce.