Hootsuite lays off 30% of workers as CEO tries to ‘refocus’

Social media advertising agency Hootsuite says it has slashed its workforce by 30%.

“We have to refocus our methods to drive effectivity, development and monetary sustainability,” CEO Tom Keiser stated in an announcement despatched to TechCrunch. The corporate provided no specifics on what precisely is altering concerning the enterprise. It didn’t disclose the precise variety of employees affected, nor would it not say in the event that they acquired any severance.

Nevertheless, a June report from the Globe and Mail pegged the Vancouver-based firm’s headcount at greater than 1,400, suggesting that around 400 folks have been hit by the job cuts — the newest in a brutal wave of tech layoffs.

Almost a month in the past, Hootsuite rolled out a rebrand for its brand and owl mascot, Owly. (To not be confused with the opposite tech owl, Duo).

The social media agency has raised greater than $300 million in capital thus far, per PitchBook, and its backers embody Constancy and Accel, the Palo Alto–primarily based VC.

Hootsuite was rumored to be value around $1 billion again in 2014, but when Pitchbook information is something to go by, Hootsuite was value a couple of quarter of a billion lower than that determine in 2019. That yr, the corporate laid off 10% of its workers amid stories that it had didn’t promote itself.