The online dating app Bumble announced its transformation plan and wants to say goodbye to over 350 employees. The company expects to pay between $20 million and $25 million as severance pay, benefits, and related charges for the impacted employees, adding "that the majority of which will be recognized in the first two quarters of 2024."
In its Q4 2023 earnings report, Bumble said that it wants to shrink its global workforce to "better align its operating model with future strategic priorities and to drive stronger operating leverage." In other words, the company will lay off about 37% of its workforce.
As per an SEC filing, Bumble had over 950 full-time employees as of December 31, 2022, and around 770 of them were located outside the US. The company reported $273.6 million in revenue for the fourth quarter, moving up from $241.6 million in the previous year's quarter.
However, Bumble reported a net loss of $32 million in the fourth quarter, about 11% of its revenue, compared to a net loss of $60.5 million in the previous year. Brazilian-American business executive and Bumble's CEO Lidiane Jones said in a statement (via CNBC):
We are taking significant and decisive actions that ensure our customers remain at the center of everything we do as we relaunch Bumble App, transform our organization and accelerate our product roadmap.
Bumble's decision to lay off employees comes not long after Sony's PlayStation division revealed its plans to cut 900 jobs worldwide. Data from Layoffs.fyi, which tracks industry-wide job cuts, suggests over 170 tech companies have laid off more than 45,000 employees in 2024.
While big tech giants like Google, Meta, and Microsoft have shredded their workforce in multiples of thousands, Apple has shied away from the mass tech layoffs. As part of its internal cost-cutting, Apple reportedly delayed bonuses and slashed Tim Cook's compensation by 40%.
Addressing the situation publicly, the Apple CEO didn't rule out job cuts entirely but said it would be a "last resort" for the company. The Cupertino giant did make some cuts as it reduced a small number of corporate retail jobs.
As per a recent report, Apple has shuttered its electric car project that had close to 2,000 employees working on it. While some employees will be moved to Apple's generative AI projects, some might be shown the way out. However, there is no official word about upcoming layoffs at Apple.
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