This week saw huge layoffs from Uber, Airbnb, and Juul. These 3 layoffs rank among the top 10 biggest in tech since the coronavirus was declared a pandemic.
Below are a few of the startup layoffs from this past week. Check out our tracker for a more comprehensive list. If you’ve seen a layoff spreadsheet for any of these companies, please let us know!
🏢 Uber ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩3,700 employees (14%) ∙ 🔗Source
- Ridesharing service Uber laid off 3,700 employees from its customer support and recruiting teams. The CEO’s letter to staff strongly hints that more cuts are coming in the next two weeks, including in engineering and product. As many as 5,400 employees are expected to ultimately be laid off.
🏢 Juul ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩900 employees (30%) ∙ 🔗Source
- A maker of e-cigarettes, Juul has been mired in controversy over its role in the rise of underage vaping. Its layoff is unrelated to the coronavirus. Juul is also planning to move its headquarters from San Francisco to Washington D.C., partially because its products are now banned in SF.
🏢 CureFit ∙ 🌎 Bengaluru ∙ 👩 800 employees (16%) ∙ 🔗Source
- An India-based fitness startup, CureFit also permanently closed a number of its gyms. The coronavirus lockdown has crushed fitness companies, including U.S.-based ClassPass (53% of team laid off or furloughed) and Brazil-based Gympass (467 employees laid off).
🏢 Careem ∙ 🌎 Dubai ∙ 👩 536 employees (31%) ∙ 🔗Source
- A ridesharing service acquired by Uber last year, Careem was one of the Middle East’s biggest startups. However, its business has dropped 80% post-coronavirus. Laid-off employees will receive at least 3 months of severance, 1 month of equity vesting, and extended visa and health insurance through 2020.
🏢 Namely ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 160 employees (40%) ∙ 🔗Source
- A maker of HR and payroll software, Namely noted that its SMB customers have been downsizing as a result of the pandemic. This has led to lower revenue for Namely, which makes money in part via a per-employee monthly fee.
🏢 Kayak / OpenTable ∙ 🌎 Stamford ∙ 👩 160 employees (8%) ∙ 🔗Source
- Kayak and OpenTable, both subsidiaries of Booking Holdings Inc., laid off 160 employees and furloughed another 240 employees. The company’s revenue has “dropped tremendously from the COVID-19 crisis.”
🏢 Oyo ∙ 🌎 London ∙ 👩 150 employees ∙ 🔗Source
- The self-proclaimed “world’s fastest growing hotel chain,” India-based Oyo plans to lay off 150-200 of its 300 employees in the UK. Oyo has already let go or furloughed thousands of employees globally in recent months. Its occupancy rate and revenue have dropped by over 50-60% since earlier this year.
🏢 Andela ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 135 employees (10%) ∙ 🔗Source
- An Africa-focused startup that provides “engineering as a service,” Andela expects a decline in customers due to the economic downturn. The company is also shifting its strategy from acting as a talent accelerator to serving as a talent outsourcing firm. No engineers were part of the layoff.
🏢 Care.com ∙ 🌎Boston ∙ 👩 81 employees ∙ 🔗Source
- An online marketplace of caregivers, Care.com said its layoff was not related to the coronavirus. Rather, the cuts are the result of Care.com’s acquisition by IAC in February.
🏢 Stack Overflow ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 40 employees (15%) ∙ 🔗Source
- A popular Q&A site for engineers, Stack Overflow has been hardest hit in its Talent business, which helps companies recruit and hire developers. Most of the affected employees were furloughed, though some were permanently laid off.
🏢 TheSkimm ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 26 employees (20%) ∙ 🔗Source
- A media startup targeted towards millennial women, TheSkimm is offering laid-off employees at least one month of severance and health insurance through July. Digital media companies have suffered declining revenue as brands pull back on advertising during the economic slowdown.