Tag: Media

Quibi

Quibi layoff list surfaces after company shuts down

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🌎 Los Angeles, CA ∙ 👩 100% of employees ∙ 🖥 All departments

Quibi, the hyped short-form video streaming service, shut down two weeks ago despite raising $1 billion in funding. In the wake of the shutdown, a layoff list has emerged showcasing ex-employees looking for new opportunities (see link below👇)

Started by entertainment and tech veterans Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, Quibi launched with much fanfare six months ago. The company hoped to create a new streaming service specifically geared towards smartphone consumption, in part by creating 10-minute episodes. However, the service struggled to gain traction, signing up only 500,000 subscribers compared to its initial target of 7 million.

Quibi’s layoff list contains roughly 150 people across multiple functions, primarily in the Los Angeles area.

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 10/22/20

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Below is a recap of tech layoff news from recent weeks. Check out the Layoffs.fyi Tracker for a complete list of all tech layoffs during the pandemic.

🏢 Quibi ∙ 🌎 Los Angeles ∙ 👩 100% of employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • Quibi, the short-form video streaming service started by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, is shutting down. Despite raising $1 billion in funding and launching with much fanfare six months ago, the service struggled to gain traction, signing up only 500,000 subscribers compared to its initial target of 7 million.

🏢 Chef ∙ 🌎 Seattle ∙ 🔗Source

  • An unspecified number of employees were laid off at DevOps startup Chef following its $220 million acquisition by Progress. Those affected include a portion of Chef’s engineering team in Seattle and other locations.

🏢 Getyourguide ∙ 🌎 Berlin ∙ 👩 90 employees (17%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • Berlin-based tourism startup Getyourguide laid off 90 employees due to the disruption of travel resulting from the global pandemic. The company offers a booking platform for sightseeing tours and other tourism activities.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 10/1/20

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

🏢 HumanForest ∙ 🌎 London ∙ 🔗Source

  • HumanForest, a U.K.-based free bike-sharing service, laid off staff after a mechanical defect caused an accident for one of its customers. The layoff comes shortly after the startup raised $2.3 million in seed funding. TechCrunch reports that employees were let go with short notice and minimal severance. HumanForest hopes to launch a new e-bike in spring 2021, and has suspended its London operations in the meantime.

🏢 WeWork ∙ 🌎 Shenzhen ∙ 🔗Source

  • WeWork sold majority control of its Chinese unit to a private equity firm in exchange for a $200 million investment. Now a Chinese-owned company, WeWork China experienced layoffs as a result of the sale.

🏢 The Wrap ∙ 🌎 Los Angeles ∙ 🔗Source

  • LA-based digital media startup The Wrap laid off and furloughed staff earlier in the pandemic, as video and photo shoots were canceled and major events went digital. 80% of The Wrap’s revenue comes from advertising, despite its push to diversify with events revenue over the past few years. The Wrap recently hired a new chief revenue officer, and appears to be doubling down on advertising revenue now that COVID-19 has made live events impractical.

🏢 Air ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 16% of employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • When Air launched its fundraising process in April during the peak of pandemic uncertainty, the visual collaboration startup only had 4 months of cash left. Refusing to take out a PPP loan because “it felt wrong,” the New York-based company laid off 16% of its employees and moved out of its office to minimize spending. The story has a good ending — Air recently announced the successful completion of its $12 million Series A.

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

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 9/17/20

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Well, that was fast. Just six months after everyone was warning about a startup reckoning, tech is booming again — coronavirus be damned 🤷🏻‍♂️. 

The latest evidence? Using data from PitchBook and Layoffs.fyi, the Financial Times identified more than 20 startups that recently raised funding at higher valuations despite laying off employees (including Carta, Sonder, and Stack Overflow). 

It’s not just private markets that have recovered. Shares of data startup Snowflake gained 112% on its first day of public trading yesterday, boding well for the half dozen startups about to IPO in the coming weeks. Maybe it’s time for me to finally join all the millennials trading options on Robinhood? 😉 

Despite the froth, layoffs are unfortunately still happening. I won’t be turning Layoffs.fyi into IPO.fyi anytime soon (plus, someone already registered it 2 weeks ago 😠).

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.

🏢 NS8 ∙ 🌎 Las Vegas ∙ 👩 240 employees (95%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • NS8, a fraud prevention startup, laid off nearly its entire staff. Ironically, the layoff came just days after NS8 informed employees that it was itself under investigation for fraud. The startup’s CEO abruptly resigned amid the SEC investigation, and has claimed that he “did not walk away with the companies [sic] money.” NS8 raised a $123 million round of funding just months ago.

🏢 Bleacher Report ∙ 🌎 London ∙ 👩 20 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • Digital sports media company Bleacher Report will lay off 20 employees later this month, representing nearly its entire London office. The UK staff had been focused on Bleacher Report’s football brand (what we Americans call “soccer”), and there’s speculation that this layoff is part of a series of decisions to pull back from its investment in the sport. Bleacher Report is currently owned by AT&T.

🏢 HubHaus ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 100% of employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • HubHaus, a co-living startup that manages shared homes, is shutting down and laying off all its employees. The startup says that it failed to attract enough tenants, perhaps because the pandemic has exacerbated rental markets in cities like San Francisco. 

🏢 Welkin Health ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 10 employees (33%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • The New York Post learned that patient healthcare software startup Welkin Health laid off a third of its workers in late April. Three days later, the company received a PPP loan worth over $1 million. Welkin claims that a declining sales pipeline caused the layoff. Since PPP loans are only forgivable if a company maintains its headcount, it’s likely that Welkin will need to pay back the loan.

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

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 7/16/20

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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.

In case you missed it — we recently looked at usage data from the Layoffs.fyi List to see what types of laid-off employees were getting the most attention from recruiters. Among the findings: there are 4x as many searches for laid-off engineers as there are for the next most popular function (design). You can read the full analysis here.

🏢 OnDeck ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 20% of employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • Small business lending company OnDeck laid off 20% of its staff, two sources told Layoffs.fyi. Finance blog deBanked attempted to email OnDeck’s head of corporate communications for comment, but received an auto-reply saying that he was no longer with the company.

🏢 Yelp ∙ 🌎SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 63 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • Local reviews site Yelp plans to bring back “nearly all” of the 1,100 employees it furloughed in April, citing “cautious optimism” about the economic recovery. However, 63 employees will be laid off as a result of Yelp’s decision to keep its offices closed into next year.

🏢 Optimizely ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 60 employees (15%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A maker of A/B testing software, Optimizely laid off 60 employees (15%). Laid-off employees will receive severance pay and six months of COBRA (through 2020), and will be allowed to keep their laptop.

🏢 Vox Media ∙ 🌎 Washington D.C. ∙ 👩 Unknown # employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • Vox Media, the owner of New York Magazine, The Verge, SBNation and Eater, previously furloughed 100 employees in April. Vox is planning to permanently lay off many of those employees, and may cut additional jobs as well. The company plans to miss its 2020 forecast by 25%, due in part to the pandemic’s impact on its coverage areas of sports and real estate.

🏢 Skyscanner ∙ 🌎 Edinburgh ∙ 👩 300 employees (20%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A flight comparison website based in Scotland, Skyscanner plans to close or scale back many of its global offices outside the U.K. The company’s revenues “have been hit significantly,” and it expects a full recovery to be “several quarters or possibly years away” due to the pandemic’s disruption on travel.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 7/9/20

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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 coronavirus pandemic.

🏢 Oyo USA ∙ 🌎 Dallas ∙ 👩 Hundreds of employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • A global lodging company headquartered in India, Oyo permanently laid off a “large majority” of the U.S. employees it furloughed in April. A laid-off employee tells Layoffs.fyi that 90% of the U.S. team was affected, likely numbering hundreds of people. In an internal memo, Oyo’s COO said that its U.S. business is “showing positive signs of recovery.” However, U.S. revenue is still 25% below January’s levels, with global revenue only at ~30% of pre-COVID levels.

🏢 Funding Circle ∙ 🌎San Francisco ∙ 👩 85 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • A London-based lending platform for small businesses, Funding Circle will lay off 85 U.S. employees to help its U.S. business move towards profitability. The company’s San Francisco technology development team will be consolidated to the U.K., and its sales and marketing operations will be moved to Denver.

🏢 The Wing ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 56 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • A co-working space for women, The Wing laid off an additional 56 employees after cutting half of its team in April. The company’s workspaces continue to be closed due to the pandemic, threatening its primary source of revenue. Laid-off employees will receive two months of severance pay along with extended healthcare benefits.

🏢 Hired ∙ 🌎 San Francisco ∙ 👩 Unknown # employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • A hiring marketplace that matches tech companies with job candidates, Hired is the latest recruiting startup to conduct a layoff during the pandemic. The number of employees laid off is unknown, though one Layoffs.fyi source says that at least 5 engineers and possibly up to 50 employees total were affected.

🏢 Kongregate ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 12 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • A video game publisher and web gaming portal, Kongregate laid off 12 employees as part of a strategy shift. The company will be focusing more on developing games internally rather than publishing Flash-based games made by others. Kongregate apologized that some employees found out about their layoff through a direct deposit notification.

🏢 Havenly ∙ 🌎 Denver ∙ 👩 5 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • An online interior design service, Havenly laid off 5 full-time workers and some temp workers in the spring. However, the company has begun hiring again in recent weeks, due to rising demand from people wanting to improve their living space during shelter-in-place.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 6/25/20

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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 coronavirus pandemic.

In case you missed it, our new Layoffs.fyi Severance Tracker tracks the details of severance packages offered by startups that have done layoffs. You can see how much each company gave in severance pay and healthcare coverage, whether they made any adjustments to employee stock options, and more.

🏢 Intuit ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 715 employees (7%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • The maker of TurboTax and QuickBooks, Intuit said that staff cuts were needed to better align its team structure with its new strategy of becoming an “AI-driven expert platform.” In a blog post, the company’s CEO repeatedly referred to the layoff as “re-balancing our investments,” though rebalancing typically involves bringing a portfolio back to its original allocation rather than shifting to a new one (but I digress).

🏢 GoDaddy ∙ 🌎 Austin ∙ 👩 451 employees (6%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • Web hosting and domain name provider GoDaddy is closing both of its Austin offices, which housed its GoDaddy Social business unit. 814 employees are impacted in total — of those, 40% were “offered alternate roles” in another location, 331 employees in sales were laid off, and 120 employees from fulfillment and customer success were let go.

🏢 Sonos ∙ 🌎 Los Angeles ∙ 👩 174 employees (12%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • Despite having successfully taken thousands of dollars from my bank account over the years, wireless speaker company Sonos had to lay off 12% of its staff. Sonos is also closing its retail store in New York City and 6 satellite offices.

🏢 ScaleFactor ∙ 🌎 Austin ∙ 👩 90 employees (90%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • Just months after raising a $60 million Series C, automated bookkeeping company ScaleFactor is shutting down. The company said that the pandemic had wiped out half of its sales. Half of ScaleFactor’s 100 employees were laid off immediately, and all but 10 will be let go by the end of August.

🏢 Splunk ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 70 employees (1%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A maker of data intelligence software, Splunk eliminated roles within its Product Management, Engineering, and PMO teams, according to an internal email reviewed by Layoffs.fyi.

🏢 Redox ∙ 🌎 Madison ∙ 👩 44 employees (25%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • An API for healthcare data, Redox explained the circumstances surrounding the layoff on its company podcast.

🏢 Atlas Obscura ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 14 employees (25%)

  • A travel media company that specializes in obscure destinations, Atlas Obscura laid off around 14 employees, two sources told Layoffs.fyi.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 6/11/20

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Startup layoffs continue to decline! 📉 This week is on track to extend the 8-week downward trend we highlighted on Monday. For another look, check out TechCrunch’s analysis of the Layoffs.fyi data.

Below is a recap of the layoffs from this past week. If you’ve seen a layoff spreadsheet for any of these companies, please let us know.

As always, the Layoffs.fyi Tracker maintains a comprehensive list of all startup layoffs since COVID-19.

🏢 Lastline ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 50 employees (40%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A network security startup, Lastline announced that it is being acquired by VMware. As part of the acquisition, VMware will be laying off 40% of Lastline’s team (around 50 employees).

🏢 The Athletic ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 46 employees (8%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A sports news website, The Athletic saw new subscriber growth drop by 20-30% due to the hiatus of live sports. The NBA will be the first major sports league to resume (on July 31), since MLB continues to squabble and can’t get its act together 😡🤬.. Laid-off employees will receive 4 weeks of severance pay, health insurance coverage through the end of the year, full acceleration of unvested stock options, and an extension of the exercise period to one year.

🏢 Builder ∙ 🌎 Los Angeles ∙ 👩 39 employees (14%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A startup that makes it easy to build software without code, Builder.ai’s layoff was concentrated in its Los Angeles office. In addition, some U.K. staffers were placed on furlough, and remaining employees will be required to take a temporary pay cut. The company has experienced a drop in orders during the pandemic.

🏢 Credit Sesame∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 22 employees (14%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A provider of free credit monitoring, Credit Sesame earns revenue by making commissions from its credit card and loan partners. The company implied that its revenue has been affected by tightening credit markets, which has made it hard for consumers to borrow money or obtain credit. Larger rival Credit Karma announced last month that it was instituting pay cuts of between 15-50% and freezing promotions.

🏢 Ethos Life ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 18 employees (14%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A provider of life insurance, Ethos Life said the layoff was caused by “uncertainty with future consumer demand and capital markets.” Ethos had grown its team size from 30 employees in the beginning of 2019 to almost 130 people prior to the layoff.

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 5/21/20

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The number of newly-reported startup layoffs continues to decline, though each one is now affecting 3x more employees on average. This past week saw a massive layoff from Uber, alongside other notable cuts mentioned below. The total count is now up to 58,000+ startup employees laid off since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Check out the Layoffs.fyi Tracker for a comprehensive list. If you’ve seen a layoff spreadsheet for any of these companies, please let us know!

🏢 Ola ∙ 🌎 Bengaluru ∙ 👩 1,400 employees (35%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • An India-based ridesharing company, Ola said revenue has dropped by 95% in the last two months due to stay-at-home orders. Laid-off employees will receive 3 months of severance, along with “healthcare and emotional support until the end of the year.” It’s not clear who will be providing the emotional support.

🏢 Deliv ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 669 employees (100%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A service that enables brick-and-mortar stores to offer same-day deliveries, Deliv announced that it was shutting down operations and selling some of its technology to Target. The company is laying off at least 669 workers and will wind down its business over the next 90 days. Even though delivery businesses like Amazon, Target, and Uber Eats are surging during the pandemic, Deliv’s business depends on customers like Best Buy, Macy’s, and Walgreens, who have been severely impacted by shelter-in-place orders.

🏢 Cruise ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 150 employees (8%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A self-driving car startup owned by GM, Cruise becomes the most prominent (though certainly not the only) autonomous vehicle company to cut staff. AV companies like Cruise, Zoox, and Ike were already bleeding money with little revenue — now, their vehicles are also sitting idle because social distancing measures mean that backup drivers can’t be used for self-driving tests. Cruise’s layoff largely avoided touching its engineering team.

🏢 SoFi ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 112 employees (7%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A personal finance startup, SoFi is positioning its staffing reduction not as a layoff but as a performance-driven cut. The company implied that the employees cut were falling short of their performance expectations. One source told Layoffs.fyi that 37 engineers were affected.

🏢 Quartz ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 80 employees (40%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • A business news site, Quartz said its layoff was focused on its advertising department, though over 20 journalists were also affected. The company is planning to transition its business model from advertising-supported to subscription-based. Quartz is led by ace journalist and former Harvard Crimson editor Zach Seward.

🏢 Integral Ad Science ∙ 🌎 New York City ∙ 👩 70 employees (10%) ∙ 🔗Source

  • An ad verification company, Integral Ad Science joins the growing number of ad tech startups (and ad-supported media businesses) confronting a broader pullback in ad spending. Similar companies that have conducted layoffs include Rubicon Project, OpenX, GumGum, TripleLift, VideoAmp, MediaMath, Sojern, and AdRoll.

🏢 Intercom ∙ 🌎 SF Bay Area ∙ 👩 39 employees ∙ 🔗Source

  • A maker of customer messaging software, Intercom is also relocating 47 roles in its marketing and R&D teams from San Francisco to Dublin, in addition to the layoff.

🏢 Divvy ∙ 🌎 Salt Lake City ∙ 👩 Unknown # of employees

  • A platform for expense reports, Divvy conducted a mass layoff on Tuesday, according to multiple LinkedIn posts. One source tells Layoffs.fyi that over 100 people were cut.

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.