Layoffs Roundup: Mon 4/6/20

Last week we tracked 50 startup layoffs affecting over 4,000 people. The post-Coronavirus tally has now crossed 10,000 employees laid off ☹️.

Below are a few of the recent layoffs. Check our Layoffs Tracker for a comprehensive report. If you’ve seen a layoff spreadsheet for any of these companies, please let us know so we can help the affected people!

  • MindBody, which creates scheduling software for gyms, fitness studios, and spas, laid off or furloughed 700 employees. Nearly 95% of their customers are closed due to shelter-at-home orders.
    • 🌎 San Luis Obispo βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 700 employees (35%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source
  • Sojern, an ad-tech startup servicing travel companies, cut 300 employees, about half its staff. Travel advertising in general fell by as much as 90% in March.
    • 🌎 San Francisco βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 300 employees (50%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source
  • AdRoll, an ad retargeting company, laid off 174 employees. According to an employee, the Salt Lake City and New York City offices were most affected.
    • 🌎 Salt Lake City βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 174 employees
  • Velodyne Lidar, which designs sensor systems used in driverless cars for companies like Uber, laid off 140 employees. Workers say the company is using the coronavirus as an excuse when they’ve long been planning to transfer production overseas.
    • 🌎 San Francisco βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 140 employees βˆ™ πŸ”—Source
  • ThirdLove, a startup that sells bras and underwear, laid off 30% of its team. Other direct-to-consumer companies like Everlane and Brandless were struggling even before COVID-19 due to rising customer acquisition costs.
    • 🌎 San Francisco βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 94 employees (35%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source
  • Industrious, a provider of flexible office space, laid off 20% of its staff (90 employees) and enacted furloughs or reduced hours for another 10%. The company joins a growing list of modern real estate companies that have conducted layoffs, including WeWork, Sonder, and Knotel.
    • 🌎 New York City βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 90 employees (20%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source
  • Arrive Logistics, a freight brokerage, cut 75 employees (7%) and furloughed another 35. It cited the coronavirus outbreak’s negative impact on freight markets.
    • 🌎 Austin βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 75 employees (7%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source
  • Bustle Digital Group, a media company that owns Bustle, Elite Daily, and Mic, laid off 24 employees. The entire staff of The Outline, a culture site, was let go as part of the layoff.
    • 🌎 New York City βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 24 employees βˆ™ πŸ”—Source
  • The Wing, a co-working space for women, laid off half of its headquarters staff. It said it saw 95% of its revenue “disappear overnight.”
    • 🌎 New York City βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 50% of employees βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

Brandless

Brandless shuts down, lays off 88% of staff

🌎 San Francisco, Minneapolis βˆ™ πŸ‘©β€πŸ’Ό 70 employees (88%) βˆ™ πŸ–₯ All departments

Brandless, a direct-to-consumer startup that makes affordable household products, is shutting down and laying off 88% of its staff (see link below for the listπŸ‘‡). 10 employees remain to finish the wind-down process. The company said its business model was unsustainable — a problem that has also plagued other DTC startups because competition for social media advertising has driven up customer acquisition costs. Brandless had raised $292 million, most notably from SoftBank.