AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT CONFLUENT

Mountain View, California-based Confluent, a managed cloud-service provider for connecting and processing data between databases, has announced an 8% reduction in its workforce to improve the company's path to profitability.

The reduction in force will impact 220 employees, with separations being completed in the Second Quarter.

Co-founder and CEO Jay Kreps noted, "Due to economic uncertainty, it's taking longer for the company to close sales, so its growth is slowing. At the same time, it's under increasing pressure to stem its losses."

"To many, I'm sure this news comes as a shock, though those following the broader tech ecosystem closely may be less surprised. Ultimately, we had optimized some aspects of our operations for a very different world than we found ourselves operating in. The responsibility for that falls squarely on me."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT INFORMATICA (11/08/23)

NOVEMBER 8, 2023 — 10% OF WORKFORCE TARGETED

The company announced plans to lay off 10% of its workforce, or around 545 employees, to align its cost structure with its business strategy.

Today, the Company announced a plan to reduce its workforce by approximately 545 employees, representing 10% of the Company’s current global workforce, and to reduce its global real estate footprint. The November Plan is intended to further streamline the Company’s cost structure as a direct result of its cloud-only, consumption-driven strategy announced in January 2023.

The increased focus and simplicity of the CoCd strategy enable the Company to deliver continued AI-powered product innovation and strong Cloud Subscription ARR growth with a lower expense base and higher operating margins.

Potential position eliminations in each country are subject to local law and consultation requirements, which may extend this process beyond the first quarter of 2024 in limited cases. The charges that the Company expects to incur are subject to a number of assumptions, including local law requirements in various jurisdictions, and actual expenses may differ materially from such estimates.

In January, we transitioned to a cloud-only, consumption-driven strategy, which is the final leg of our multi-year plan to drive profitable growth. We’ve already seen significant benefits of these initiatives undertaken throughout this year, including the strong momentum and execution reflected in today’s earnings results. Our next phase of growth allows us to further streamline our global cost structure without reducing our growth expectations. We intend to finish our transition to a cloud-only business model while maintaining sales capacity, best-in-class product innovation, and customer satisfaction. We have strong momentum heading into the fourth quarter and look forward to sharing more about our strategy at Investor Day.”

JANUARY 30, 2023 — Original post…

Redwood City, California-based Informatica, a software development company providing enterprise-level cloud data management, integration, and analysis services, has announced a change in leadership along with a 7% reduction in force.

The reduction in force will impact 450 employees.

According to an SEC filing, "The reduction is intended to better align the company’s global workforce and cost base with its cloud-focused strategic priorities and current business needs."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT AIRTABLE (09/15/23)

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023 — 237 EMPLOYEES TARGETED

The company has announced that it will lay off 27% of its workforce, or 237 employees.

According to Howie Liu, Airtable’s founder and CEO, “The market has tipped towards favoring efficient growth over growth at all costs. We must operate the business in a more mature way that puts us on a path to become a public company and to have durability and efficiency in how we grow.”

“I let myself get caught in the hyper-competitive environment at that time. We had the capital and said, ‘Let's hyper-scale; let's recruit as many smart people as we can and just throw them into the business and see what they can do. It’s a sickening feeling. I made the decisions that got us here, but it would be even worse to not make a change because if business continues on in this way, it would not be ideal for anyone––the employees, the investors, or the company.”

DECEMBER 20, 2022 — Original post…

San Francisco, California-based Airtable, a technology company offering a cloud-based collaboration service that combines a spreadsheet with a database, has announced a 20% reduction in its workforce.

The reduction will impact 254 employees across business development, engineering and other teams.

Airtable founder and CEO Howie Liu noted, “We’ve rapidly expanded and executed on multiple fronts. At the time, I believed we could successfully pursue all of them in parallel. However, in taking a hard look at our efforts in the current market environment, we’ve identified the teams best positioned to capture the opportunity in enterprise in order to bring complete focus, alignment and accountability in our execution.”

“We have more than enough runway to get to profitability and then some. We’re a private company, so we’re not under the gun to show short-term results of profitability — so we’re very, very fortunate to not be under so much pressure and we would never gloat about that, but I do think it gives us a unique position.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?