no0810Hootsuite
Social media management platform Hootsuite Inc. became the latest Canadian tech company to make major layoffs when it announced it was laying off 30 percent of its staff on Tuesday.
The move comes as a cooling economy has dimmed the outlook for high-growth companies, particularly those that benefited from the shift to e-commerce during the pandemic.
Giants like Amazon.com Inc. are also not immune from the changing economic picture. Earlier this month, Amazon said it had cut staffing levels by 100,000 positions, slowing hiring.
Here’s a rundown of the big tech layoffs that have hit Canada recently.
Hootsuite
Vancouver-based Hootsuite said Tuesday’s 30 percent global staff cut will bring it to just over 1,000 people and is part of the company’s restructuring efforts.
In an emailed statement, CEO Tom Keyser said the move was made as the company realigns its strategies “to drive efficiency, growth and financial sustainability.”
“We want to be very clear that this decision is not a reflection on them or their work. This is indicative of a shift in our business that is realigning our strategies with the positions we need to be successful,” Kaiser said.
Last month, the company announced a rebrand, saying it was time to rethink its “integrated branding strategy to better reflect our position and direction as social experts, trusted partners and joyful mentors.”
Shopify
Canadian tech giant Shopify Inc. was the most prominent company to cut staff when it laid off 10 percent of its staff on July 26 after a bet on continued e-commerce growth failed to pay off.
The layoffs of approximately 1,000 employees primarily affected those in recruitment, support and sales.
CEO Toby Lüttke said the company expects the surge it’s seen in the midst of the pandemic to be permanent and believes they need to expand to keep pace. Instead, growth has since reverted back to pre-Covid trends as consumers now return to shopping in brick-and-mortar retail stores.
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“At the end of the day, placing that bet was my decision and I was wrong. Now we have to adapt,” said Lüttke.
article
Vancouver-based online furniture retailer Article laid off 216 employees, or 17 percent of its staff, last week.
In a post on Article’s website, co-founder and CEO Aamir Baig said the company was operating “at a size larger than current demand” and needed to resize the business.
“Like many e-commerce companies, we have benefited tremendously from the increase in demand from COVID. We expected the online shopping trend to continue – it didn’t and it has since reverted back to pre-Covid trends,” he said.
Clearco
Michele Romanow’s startup Clearco laid off 25 percent of its workforce on July 29, saying the company increased its headcount too quickly in anticipation of continued growth.
Clearco said 125 people out of their 500-strong team were affected by the cuts.
In a memo to staff, the Dragons’ Den star said they were building to match the growth of the economy and now faced “significant headwinds” that did not exist six months ago.
Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple laid off 13 percent of its workforce on June 16, citing “tremendous volatility” in the markets. The financial services company said it has laid off 159 of its 1,262 employees.
In a letter to staff, CEO Michael Katchen positioned the layoffs as part of the fallout from months in which the market soared and Wealthsimple grew at an “unprecedented” rate amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a report from the Canadian Press
• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com | Twitter: denisegplnwn
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