Vancouver-based tech company Hootsuite has once again laid off some employees the second time in 4 months.
A Hootsuite spokesperson revealed that roughly 5% of staff were cut. The rep stated that Hootsuite is reflecting on itself and clarifying its focus, as well as looking to remove redundancy throughout the hierarchy.
“As we clarify our customer focus and priorities, and reflect on our organization, it is clear that we have some areas of duplication, reduced or slowed demand, and layers of management that we are addressing which will unfortunately result in approximately 5% of our employees leaving the business,” read the statement from Hootsuite.
These layoffs come only a few months after Hootsuite laid off 30 percent of its global workforce, amounting to 400 employees. At the time, CEO Tom Keiser said the move stemmed from a need to “refocus” the company on efficiency, growth and financial sustainability.
Following Hootsuite’s August layoffs, the company had a headcount of just over 1,000 —indicating that the company’s latest round of cuts impact about 50 employees.
The richly storied Hootsuite was founded in 2008 and has since faced its share of ups and downs. Whilst troubled in prior years—IPO speculation has come and go multiple times now—Hootsuite appeared to enter 2022 with momentum.
However, the firm’s big rebrand fell flat when headwind hit soon after.
Hootsuite is far from the only Canadian tech company to feel the impact of worsening economic conditions in recent months. The broader downturn, fuelled by geopolitical tensions and rising interest rates in the face of mounting inflation, has led many other high-growth tech firms across Canada and around the world to make similar staff reductions in 2022.
According to layoff tracking website Layoffs.fyi, 728 startups globally have cut a combined 95,732 employees so far this year.
