According to a number of U.S. ** reports cited by One Shipping: Flexport, the global leader in technology logistics, plans to launch a layoff plan again in the world!
It is reportedWith layoffs of nearly 20% of the world's workforce and planned for the coming weeks, the move means that around 500 employees are about to leave the tech logistics company!
One Shipping found that in the past 2023, Flexport has implemented two large-scale layoffs, namely 20% layoffs (about 700 people) in January 2023 and 20% layoffs (about 600 people) in October 2023.
Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen attributed earlier layoffs to overruns and said he was determined to return to profitability by the end of 2024, mainly through growth in the core freight business.
If this layoff is true, the number of presidents in Flexport will reach 1,800 in the past year, accounting for about half of the company's total headcount!
It is worth noting that Flexport, which is making drastic layoffs, is also trying to raise funds at the same time, and the founder and CEO even made a special announcement a few months ago about the current situation of "the company is not short of money" - $1 billion in cash (cash) lying on the account!
In October 2023, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen said about Flexport when announcing the layoffsWith more than $1 billion in net cashand is in a strong position to return to profitability as soon as the end of this year.
In addition to the purported $1 billion in cash lying on the books, recently,Flexport has also just raised $2 from its original shareholder, e-commerce provider ShopifyA new round of funding of $600 million.
On January 20, Ryan Petersen said on the social platform X (formerly Twitter) that Shopify will provide 2$600 million in "unrestricted convertible notes" and called it a "vote of confidence".
Petersen announced that he got 2 from ShopifyThe $600 million funding was accompanied by a statement that Flexport's team has made tremendous progress in getting Flexport back to profitability since he returned to CEO.
since i came back to the role of ceo, our team has made massive progress toward returning flexport to profitability.
It is understood that last year, Flexport acquired Shopify's logistics division, expanding the company into e-commerce fulfillment and last-mile delivery. As part of the deal, Shopify acquired a 13% stake in Flexport and a board seat.
In 2022, Shopify, which enables merchants to build storefronts and take advantage of other services, invested an undisclosed amount in Flexport as part of its nearly $1 billion funding round that valued Flexport at $8 billion. Since then, the two companies have worked closely together.
In February 2023, Flexport created a tool to help sellers on Shopify's e-commerce platform manage and track inbound ocean shipments.