Tag: Food

Cheetah

Cheetah conducts layoff, cites challenges facing the restaurant industry

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🌎 San Francisco, CA ∙ 👩 Unknown # of employees ∙ 🖥 Multiple departments

Cheetah, which delivers groceries and other supplies to restaurants, laid off an unknown number of employees last month. Following the layoff, the startup released a talent directory highlighting a few of its laid-off employees (see link below👇)

No public announcement of the layoff exists, but the company’s talent directory explains that “COVID-19 has hit the restaurant industry hard, and unfortunately Cheetah had to part with some of its most talented team members.”

In April, Cheetah announced that it had raised $36 million and was pivoting to sell groceries to consumers, not just wholesalers.

The Cheetah layoff list contains 26 people across multiple functions, based in the U.S. and Israel.

View list of employees laid off ->

Our live Layoffs Tracker has a real-time report of all startups that have done layoffs.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 8/13/20

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Tech layoffs continue to level off, with many hoping that the worst is behind us. After peaking in April and May, layoffs have declined in every month since.

Citing multiple sources including Layoffs.fyi, the New York Times concludes that early “doomsday warnings have not translated into the drastic shakeout that many had expected.” The article explores how even companies that previously laid off employees, like Airbnb and Getaround, are starting to see signs of recovery.

That’s likely no comfort to the 77,000+ tech workers who have been laid off during the pandemic, or to the hundreds who continue to be laid off each week. But a fast and sustained rebound is the best we can hope for at this point 🤞.

Below is a recap of the layoffs from this past week. Our Layoffs.fyi Tracker continues to keep an updated list of all startup layoffs during COVID-19.

🏢 Thriver ∙ 🌎 Toronto ∙ 👩 75 employees (50%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • Canadian corporate catering startup Platterz rebranded to Thriver after a $33 million Series B round. With offices closing due to lockdowns, their food catering revenues have dipped in this year’s second quarter. The startup laid off 50% of its workforce, or 75 employees.

🏢 Vesta ∙ 🌎 Atlanta ∙ 👩 56 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • Worldwide payment services provider Vesta Corporation filed a WARN notice, consisting of a 60 calendar-day advance notification for layoffs in larger companies. The company will lay off 56 employees effective September 6th.

🏢 HopSkipDrive ∙ 🌎 Los Angeles ∙ 👩 54 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • HopSkipDrive, a ride-sharing company for kids, laid off 54 employees, sources told Layoffs.fyi. Schools closing has severely impacted the startup’s business since March, when they laid off 10% of the company. To diversify its services during the pandemic, HopSkipDrive now offers tech and meal delivery.

🏢 Eatsy ∙ 🌎 Singapore ∙ 👩 20 employees (100%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • Singapore-based food ordering app Eatsy has shut down, laying off its last 20 employees. In April, the company ended its operations in Indonesia. Similar food delivery start-ups in Asia, like Gojek and Grab, have also experienced layoffs.

In case you missed it, check out our standalone posts about layoffs from these companies:

Thanks to Layoffs.fyi intern Stephan Billingslea for contributing to this post.

Pared

Pared layoff list surfaces

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🌎 San Francisco Bay Area, New York City ∙ 👩 At least 16 employees ∙ 🖥 Multiple departments

Pared, a hiring marketplace for the food industry, conducted a significant layoff. With restaurants across the country under extreme pressure due to lockdown orders, there’s not much hiring happening in the food industry right now.

Pared released a layoff spreadsheet this week (see link 👇). The list includes 16 former employees in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, including several software engineers.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Pared has raised just under $14 million to date.

View list of employees laid off ->

Our live Layoffs Tracker has a real-time report of all startups that have done layoffs.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 7/30/20

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Below is a recap of the layoffs from this past week. Check out the Layoffs.fyi Tracker for a complete list of all tech layoffs during the pandemic.

🏢 Swiggy ∙ 🌎 Bengaluru ∙ 👩 350 employees (5%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • Swiggy, a food delivery startup based in India, cut 350 employees in a second round of layoffs. The company previously laid off 1,100 employees in May, but said that this will be the final round. Swiggy said that the food delivery industry has only recovered to about 50% of its peak order volume.

🏢 Procore ∙ 🌎Los Angeles ∙ 👩 180 employees (9%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • Procore, which makes construction project management software, laid off 180 employees (9%). Laid-off employees will receive severance pay, health benefits through the end of 2020, computer equipment, and outplacement services. The company filed for an IPO in February.

🏢 tZERO∙ 🌎New York ∙ 👩 Unknown # of employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • tZERO, a blockchain startup majority-owned by Overstock.com, laid off an unspecified number of employees. The company aims to cut costs in preparation for an external capital raise.
Deliveroo

Deliveroo layoff list showcases over 100 of its global employees

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🌎 London, Dubai, Taipei ∙ 👩 367 employees (15%) ∙ 🖥 Multiple departments

London-based Deliveroo, a food delivery startup that operates in 13 markets globally, laid off 367 employees in late April. At the time, the company was vague about the reasons for the layoff, but it’s widely speculated that the unprofitability of food delivery startups combined with pandemic-induced restaurant closures has led to troubles across the category.

On LinkedIn, the company has been promoting an official Deliveroo talent directory that showcases some of its laid-off employees (see link 👇). The Deliveroo layoff list contains over 100 former employees, primarily in London, Dubai, and Taipei.

View list of employees laid off ->

Our live Layoffs Tracker has a real-time report of all startups that have done layoffs.

Zomato

Zomato layoff list continues trend of company-launched talent directories

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🌎 Gurugram ∙ 👩 520 employees (13%) ∙ 🖥 Multiple departments

An India-based restaurant guide and food delivery startup, Zomato laid off 520 employees in mid-May due to huge declines in food delivery activity. The company also said that remaining staff members would be subject to temporary pay cuts starting in June.

In order to help ex-employees land on their feet, Zomato created an official talent directory (see link 👇). In a tweet, the company’s CEO put in a “humble request to all organizations that are hiring to review the Zomato Talent Directory.”

The official Zomato layoff list contains almost 300 ex-employees spanning multiple business functions. Other startups that have launched internally-developed alumni talent directories include Airbnb, Uber, Samsara, and Agoda.

View list of employees laid off ->

Our live Layoffs Tracker has a real-time report of all startups that have done layoffs.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 5/7/20

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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.

Layoffs Roundup: Wed 4/29/20

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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 ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩982 employees (17%) ∙ 🔗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 ∙ 🌎 Boston ∙ 👩900 employees (25%) ∙ 🔗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 ∙ 🌎 London ∙ 👩 367 employees (15%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • An online food delivery service, Deliveroo blamed the layoff on the coronavirus pandemic. Although 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 ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 260 employees (10%) ∙ 🔗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 ∙ 🌎 Detroit ∙ 👩 100 employees (12%) ∙ 🔗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 ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 87 employees (15%) ∙ 🔗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 ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 80 employees (18%) ∙ 🔗Source

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

🏢 Sisense ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 80 employees (9%) ∙ 🔗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 ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 74 employees ∙ 🔗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 ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 70 employees (5%) ∙ 🔗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.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 4/23/20

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Almost 300 startups have now laid off nearly 30,000 employees since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Below are a few notable layoffs from this past week. 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!

🏢 Magic Leap ∙ 🌎 Miami ∙ 👩 1,000 employees (50%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • One of the most prominent augmented reality startups, Magic Leap decided to abandon its consumer business and instead focus on enterprise use cases. Despite raising over $2 billion in funding, the company has found it challenging to release a mainstream product or generate meaningful revenue.

🏢 Lending Club ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 460 employees (30%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • An online lender, Lending Club said its layoff was the result of tightening credit markets and a drop in demand for personal loans, the company’s flagship product.

🏢 Houzz ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 155 employees (10%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • An online platform for home remodeling, Houzz said that social distancing measures has led to lower demand for its pro subscriptions, which connect home remodeling professionals with potential customers. Houzz is providing laid-off employees with severance packages based on tenure and 3 months of benefits.

🏢 CarGurus ∙ 🌎 Boston ∙ 👩 130 employees (13%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A marketplace for cars, CarGurus said that dealers have been forced to close due to stay-at-home orders, “effectively pausing vehicle sales.”

🏢 Greenhouse Software ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 120 employees (28%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A maker of applicant tracking software, Greenhouse is the latest recruiting startup to conduct a layoff. Competitor Lever laid off 86 employees (40%) a week before. Greenhouse is offering laid-off employees 8 weeks of severance and 8 months of healthcare.

🏢 ConsenSys ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 91 employees (14%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • An incubator of Ethereum projects, ConsenSys cited the coronavirus pandemic as the cause of its layoff. However, the company did not elaborate on exactly how the pandemic has affected its business.

🏢 Casper ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 78 employees (21%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A direct-to-consumer mattress startup, Casper also decided to close its European operations. The company hopes the job cuts will help it achieve profitability by mid-2021. One laid-off employee said, “though I am unsure what tomorrow holds, I do know that before tomorrow must come a good night’s sleep.”

🏢 Freshbooks ∙ 🌎 Toronto ∙ 👩 38 employees (9%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • An accounting software company, Freshbooks said its small business customers have been affected by the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus. Freshbooks was planning to raise additional capital before COVID-19, suggesting that one motivation for the layoff was to extend the company’s cash runway.

🏢 Sweetgreen ∙ 🌎 Los Angeles ∙ 👩 35 employees (10%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A fast casual salad chain, Sweetgreen’s business has plummeted because of shelter-in-place. An employee said that app order volume has fallen by 2/3. Sweetgreen raised $150 million in funding last year, becoming possibly the only salad restaurant ever to raise venture capital.

🏢 Patreon ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 30 employees (13%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • Patreon, which enables artists and creators to accept money from their fans, said that the layoff was caused by “several other factors beyond the financial ones.” It cited a recent performance review cycle and a new company strategy, in addition to the current economic uncertainty.

🏢 People.ai ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 30 employees (18%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A maker of predictive sales software, People.ai denied that the coronavirus pandemic has had any negative effect on its business. It said the layoff was simply to protect against future uncertainty. As would be expected of a sales startup, People.ai also listed multiple examples of how the company is in an extremely strong position.

🏢 Lambda School ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 19 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • A training program for aspiring software engineers, Lambda School said the layoff was meant to reflect a shift in priority away from growth and towards student experience. The startup has recently received criticism for the quality of its program and for engaging in misleading marketing.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 4/16/20

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Layoffs continue to ripple through the startup ecosystem. Notable events from the past 2 days include a 35% layoff from Opendoor and a 30% layoff from VSCO.

Below are a few other recent layoffs. Check our 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!

  • The RealReal, an online marketplace for consigned luxury goods, laid off 10% of its employees and furloughed another 15%. Retailers and e-commerce companies have been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, due to stay-at-home orders and a pullback in consumer discretionary spending.
    • 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 235 employees (10%) ∙ 🔗Source
  • GoPro, which makes action cameras, said it will cut over 200 employees. With fewer opportunities to sell through retail stores, the company will shift its focus to selling directly online.
    • 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 200 employees (20%) ∙ 🔗Source
  • Zume, which uses robots to make pizza while it’s being delivered, laid off 2/3 of its team. The CEO decided against using similarly-named Zoom to announce the layoff, choosing instead to send out a company-wide email.
    • 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 200 employees (67%) ∙ 🔗Source
  • Carta, which makes software that helps companies manage the equity they’ve issued to investors and employees, laid off 161 people (16%). It believes a slower economy will lead to fewer customers than originally projected. Carta is providing affected employees 3 months of pay and healthcare insurance until the end of the year.
    • 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 161 employees (16%) ∙ 🔗Source
  • TouchBistro, a point-of-sale system for restaurants, laid off 131 employees (23%). Most of its restaurant customers have closed due to shelter-in-place.
    • 🌎 Toronto ∙ 👩 131 employees (23%) ∙ 🔗Source
  • Neon, a Brazil-based digital bank, laid off 70 employees (10%). Other Brazilian fintech startups like C6 Bank and Creditas have also recently conducted layoffs.
    • 🌎 Sao Paulo ∙ 👩 70 employees (10%)∙ 🔗Source
  • Envoy, which makes a front desk visitor sign-in system, laid off 30% of its staff (58 employees). Its business has been affected by office closures across the country.
    • 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 58 employees (30%) ∙ 🔗Source