Flexport plans to reduce its workforce by 20% and those affected will receive an email in Europe and North America in the next few hours and in Asia tomorrow.
A letter to employees from Co-CEOs Dave Clark and Ryan Petersen began:
“We are excited to see what happens in 2023, but we also have to make the difficult decisions necessary to set ourselves up for long-term success.
“While we are in a good position overall, we are not immune to the macroeconomic downturn that has affected businesses around the world. As a result, sales volume projections through 2023 have been reduced.
“Combined with improved efficiencies as a result of new organizational and operational structures, the reduced volume means we are overstaffed in various roles across the company.”
The letter added that the company would be downsized, affecting about 20% of its global workforce, or about 600 people, under restructuring.
All divisions in all regions are hiring, but the company will continue to operate in all regions and will not close its offices. We also employ approximately 350-400 engineering and software staff due to our focus on efficiency and technology.
Retiring U.S. staff will receive “12 weeks of severance pay, six months of extended medical care, 2022 bonus payouts, and lowering the vesting cliff for employees with more than six months of tenure. receive accelerated vesting, immigration support, and the ability to opt-in to our company. Alumni Talent Directory for Future Employment Opportunities”.
No details for other regions.
But the company is also hiring more people in technology. “2023 will bring incredible speed. We are in the process of doubling down on our software engineering talent and transitioning to a single-threaded business organization to build world-class products faster, and the best products. We will continue to invest to provide a class of operational execution for our clients.”
The slowdown will give us time to build out our technology, so when the economy recovers we will be poised to become the Flexport we all want, the one-stop shop for our customers to move goods around the world. Easy, but doing so requires being agile, financially responsible, and focused on building fast with operational excellence.
The letter concludes with: “We will come out of this recession and be ready for any battle. We will do our best and continue to deliver amazing value and service to our customers.”
(full text to employees you can read here.)
