Layoffs Roundup: Wed 4/29/20

Although the number of new startup layoffs thankfully declined this past week, there were deep cuts from companies like Lyft, TripAdvisor, and Deliveroo.

Below are a few of the recent layoffs. You can check our tracker for a more comprehensive report. As always, if you’ve seen a layoff spreadsheet for any of these companies, please let us know!

🏒 Lyft βˆ™ 🌎 SF Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘©982 employees (17%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • Ridesharing company Lyft has seen demand drop as people stay at home. Rival Uber is reportedly discussing a layoff as well (to the tune of 5,000 people), though those cuts have not been finalized.

🏒 TripAdvisor βˆ™ 🌎 Boston βˆ™ πŸ‘©900 employees (25%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • In conjunction with the layoff, TripAdvisor closed its San Francisco and downtown Boston offices. It is also pausing 401(k) matching 😒and reducing pay and hours to reflect a 4-day workweek. TripAdvisor became the latest travel company to conduct layoffs, joining Sonder (400 laid off on 3/24), TripActions (300 on 3/25), TravelTriangle (250 on 3/28), and Fareportal (200 on 3/26).

🏒 Deliveroo βˆ™ 🌎 London βˆ™ πŸ‘© 367 employees (15%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • An online food delivery service, Deliveroo blamed the layoff on the coronavirus pandemic. AlthoughΒ demand for meal delivery has risen due to shelter-in-place, consumers may increasingly decide to save money by cooking instead, something my wife told me I should also consider.

🏒 Automation Anywhere βˆ™ 🌎 SF Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘© 260 employees (10%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • A robotic process automation platform, Automation Anywhere said it needed to cut costs to adjust to the economic fallout caused by COVID-19. Although a startup that automates repetitive manual tasks would seemingly benefit from the pandemic, most of Automation Anywhere’s customers have its software installed on their own servers, in their own offices (that are now closed).

🏒 StockX βˆ™ 🌎 Detroit βˆ™ πŸ‘© 100 employees (12%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • A resale marketplace for sneakers, StockX has been negatively impacted by the plummeting demand for sneakers during the economic slowdown. The resale price of the 2020 Off-White Air Jordan V, for example, has dropped from a high of $986 to a low of $657 (which still sounds really expensive??)

🏒 Zenefits βˆ™ 🌎 SF Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘© 87 employees (15%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • A maker of HR and payroll software, Zenefits cited the coronavirus pandemic as the cause of the layoff. The company is running a number of coronavirus-related initiatives, including offering one year of free payroll for small business customers.

🏒 App Annie βˆ™ 🌎 SF Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘© 80 employees (18%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • A mobile analytics startup, App Annie said the layoff would help it become self-sufficient.

🏒 Sisense βˆ™ 🌎 New York City βˆ™ πŸ‘© 80 employees (9%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • A maker of business analytics software, Sisense is projecting lower growth due to economic slowdown. Accordingly, its cuts were reportedly concentrated in their sales and marketing teams.

🏒 WeWork βˆ™ 🌎 SF Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘© 74 employees βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • Beleaguered co-working company WeWork is laying off another 74 employees, including 60 from its 655 Montgomery St. location. WeWork had already cut thousands of employees in prior rounds of layoffs.

🏒 Oscar Health βˆ™ 🌎 New York City βˆ™ πŸ‘© 70 employees (5%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • A health insurance company, Oscar Health said the layoff was needed to meet budget goals. The company, co-founded by Josh Kushner (whose brother is President Trump’s son-in-law), has been criticized for potential conflicts of interest related to COVID-19 testing.