Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 8/20/20

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.

🏒 Shopify βˆ™ 🌎 Ottawa βˆ™ πŸ‘© 30-50 employees βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • An e-commerce platform that allows anyone to set up an online store, Shopify has seen revenue double YoY during the pandemic. However, due to the company’s decision to adopt remote work permanently, at least 30 employees supporting in-office workers were laid off. BetaKit reports that some laid-off employees complained about poor severance packages and being denied transitions to other roles.

🏒 DJI βˆ™ 🌎 Shenzhen βˆ™ πŸ‘© ~120 employees βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • Chinese drone manufacturer DJI began cutting its global sales and marketing teams in March as sales dropped and political pressures surged. The US Department of Interior recently grounded its fleet of DJI drones over security concerns, and DJI’s mobile app has been accused of collecting more user data than needed. Reuters estimates that over 120 employees have been laid off; the company denied the number but declined to provide a more accurate count.

🏒 InVision βˆ™ 🌎 New York City βˆ™ πŸ‘© 40-60 employees

  • Digital product design platform InVisionApp laid off 40 to 60 employees over the past couple of weeks, sources told Layoffs.fyi. InVision most recently raised a $115 million Series F in 2018 that valued the company at $1.9 billion.

🏒 Glossier βˆ™ 🌎 New York City βˆ™ πŸ‘© Unknown # employees βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • Make-up and skincare startup Glossier previously closed its three physical stores in March and furloughed its retail workers in June. The D2C beauty company is now laying off its retail workers, as it does not expect to reopen its stores this year. New York and Los Angeles workers will receive 12 weeks of severance and healthcare coverage through October. Glossier did not lay off any corporate employees and will continue to focus on e-commerce, its main revenue source.

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

Dark

Programming service Dark releases layoff list

🌎 San Francisco Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘© At least 6 employees βˆ™ πŸ–₯ Engineering

UPDATE: Dark’s co-founder Paul Biggar clarified to Layoffs.fyi that the company will continue operating, with Paul as the sole employee.

Dark, a programming language and service, released a layoff list last week. The Dark layoff list features 4 engineers, 1 designer, and 1 business person. All of them are either remote or in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Dark’s LinkedIn page no longer lists any active employees other than the founders, suggesting that the entire company has shut down. Dark raised a $3.5 million seed round in 2017.

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

Layoffs Roundup: Thurs 6/11/20

Startup layoffs continue to decline! πŸ“‰ This week is on track to extend the 8-week downward trend we highlighted on Monday. For another look, check outΒ TechCrunch’s analysisΒ 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 βˆ™ 🌎 SF Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘© 50 employees (40%) βˆ™ πŸ”—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 βˆ™ 🌎 SF Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘© 46 employees (8%) βˆ™ πŸ”—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 βˆ™ 🌎 Los Angeles βˆ™ πŸ‘© 39 employees (14%) βˆ™ πŸ”—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 Sesameβˆ™ 🌎 SF Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘© 22 employees (14%) βˆ™ πŸ”—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 βˆ™ 🌎 SF Bay Area βˆ™ πŸ‘© 18 employees (14%) βˆ™ πŸ”—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 5/28/20

Here’s a recap of the startup 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. There’s now a new “Layoff Charts” tab too πŸ“ˆ! Check it out for real-time graphs of startup layoffs by month, industry, and location β€” all updated automatically.

And if you’re into data visualization, the team at Bloomberg made some cool graphics today using Layoffs.fyi data.

🏒 Uber India βˆ™ 🌎 Bengaluru βˆ™ πŸ‘© 600 employees (23%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • Ridesharing company Uber said that the cuts in India were part of its broader plan to reduce workforce. Laid-off employees will receive at least 10 weeks of severance and 6 months of healthcare coverage. Uber’s main competitor in India, Ola, laid off 1,400 employees last week.

🏒 Cvent βˆ™ 🌎 Washington D.C. βˆ™ πŸ‘© 400 employees (10%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • An event management platform, Cvent has been deeply impacted by the widescale decline of in-person meetings and events. Its CEO said that its customers are in many of the industries that have been hit hardest by COVID-19: event planning, hospitality, and corporate travel. The company is shifting its own flagship event in August to be completely virtual.

🏒 Instructure βˆ™ 🌎 Salt Lake City βˆ™ πŸ‘© 150 employees (12%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • A provider of learning management software, Instructure is also closing its satellite offices (including Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, and London) in favor of its Salt Lake City headquarters. Instructure was acquired by a private equity firm in March. Even though the new owner reportedly promised it wouldn’t shrink staff, it’s not too surprising that a layoff happened anyway, given the propensity of PE firms to cut costs.

🏒 Bluprint βˆ™ 🌎 Denverβˆ™ πŸ‘© 137 employees (100%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • A provider of online crafts classes, Bluprint will be shutting down by the end of August. Originally named Craftsy and acquired by NBCUniversal in 2017, Bluprint’s layoffs will begin around July 22 and end when operations are closed.

🏒 Glitch βˆ™ 🌎 New York City βˆ™ πŸ‘© 18 employees (36%) βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • A collaborative coding platform, Glitch cited market conditions as context for the layoff and said it needed to β€œsignificantly cut operating costs” to ensure “long-term viability.” The company is offering severance pay, health insurance, and support finding a new job to laid-off employees.

🏒 Acorns βˆ™ 🌎 Portland βˆ™ πŸ‘© Unknown # of employees βˆ™ πŸ”—Source

  • An app that lets users invest their spare change, Acorns is shutting down its Portland office and consolidating staff to its Irvine headquarters. Some employees will be moving locations, though one source tells Layoffs.fyi that others are being laid off. Acorns inherited the Portland office in 2017 after acquiring retirement savings startup Vault, and subsequently grew the office to around 30 people.
Dotscience

DevOps startup Dotscience shuts down

🌎 London βˆ™ πŸ‘© 10+ employees (100%) βˆ™ πŸ–₯ All departments

Dotscience, which makes DevOps tools for machine learning, shut down this week. The company said it ran out of money and was unable to secure additional financing.

In a blog post announcing the shutdown (see link below πŸ‘‡), Dotscience listed 10 laid-off employees seeking new roles, including 7 engineers.

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