Twilio Announces Second Round of Layoffs in Bid to Restructure Business
By Twilio Inc., a maker of customer communication and marketing software, has announced a second round of layoffs in five months in a bid to restructure its business and increase profits.[0] CEO Jeff Lawson said the decision was driven by the need to reorganize the company differently for success and the changes needed to enact this new structure.
The company is cutting about 17% of its workforce, which should be about 1,400 employees, two days before it reports earnings for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year.[0] Twilio has announced a restructuring plan which will see the formation of two business units: Twilio Communications and Twilio Data & Applications.[1] Lawson declared that every unit will be enabled to improve its respective customer and business requirements.[2]
Twilio is also closing some offices, with the goal of maintaining only a handful of global hubs and satellite offices.[3] It is anticipated that the firm will commence with the announcement of those closures later this week.[3] The company is cutting spending in other areas too, such as ending book and wellness allowances, and winding down its Twilio Recharge four-week paid sabbatical program.[4]
In addition, the company’s board has approved a base salary reduction for CEO Jeff Lawson from $134,000 to $65,535 per year, effective March 1.[5] A majority of Lawson's remuneration, however, has been in the form of stock grants from the company.[4]
“We have to spend less, streamline, and become more efficient,” Lawson wrote in an email sent to all Twilio employees.[6] “To do that, we’re forming two business units: Twilio Communications and Twilio Data & Applications. And today, I’m unfortunately bearing the news that we’re parting ways with approximately 17 per cent of our team.”[7]
This fresh round of layoffs is targeted at “spend less, streamline, and become more efficient,” said Lawson.[8] Twilio had about 8,992 employees before the September layoffs and is now cutting ties with an additional 17%.[9]
The changes will enable the company to “drive profit and growth”, Lawson added.[10] It marks the second round of layoffs after the company announced it would lay off 11% of its workforce in September.[11]
0. “Twilio, a Maker of Customer Communication and Marketing Software, Said It Will Cut About … – Latest Tweet” LatestLY, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.latestly.com/socially/business/twilio-a-maker-of-customer-communication-and-marketing-software-said-it-will-cut-about-latest-tweet-by-bloomberg-4837329.html
1. “Twilio Is Finally Getting Serious About Turning a Profit” The Motley Fool, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/02/14/twilio-is-finally-getting-serious-about-turning-a/
2. “Shares Pop As This $11B Tech Company Announces Double-Digit Headcount Cut: What You Need To Know – Twilio” Benzinga, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.benzinga.com/news/mid-cap/23/02/30878630/shares-pop-as-this-11b-tech-company-announces-double-digit-headcount-cut-what-you-need-to-know
3. “Twilio announces another round of layoffs and office closures – Denver Business Journal” Denver Business Journal , 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2023/02/13/denver-twilio-layoffs-closures.html
4. “Twilio axes roughly 1 in 5 staff in fresh round of layoffs” The Register, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/13/twilio_trims_workforce/
5. “Twilio gains 4% as it plans cutting 17% of staff, closing offices (NYSE:TWLO)” Seeking Alpha, 13 Feb. 2023, https://seekingalpha.com/news/3935223-twilio-gains-4-as-it-plans-cutting-17-of-staff-closing-offices
6. “Yahoo, Twilio Lay Off Thousands As Bay Area Tech Cutbacks Continue” California Globe, 13 Feb. 2023, https://californiaglobe.com/articles/yahoo-twilio-lay-off-thousands-as-bay-area-tech-layoffs-continue/
7. “Twilio is the latest in a long line of IT firms to announce layoffs” Techstory, 13 Feb. 2023, https://techstory.in/twilio-is-the-latest-in-a-long-line-of-it-firms-to-announce-layoffs/
8. “Twilio announces fresh round of layoffs, impacting 17% of its workforce” Network World, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.networkworld.com/article/3687739/twilio-announces-fresh-round-of-layoffs-impacting-17-of-its-workforce.html
9. “Twilio to lay off 17% of workforce, restructure” UPI News, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/02/13/twilio-layoffs-restructure/5981676314332/
10. “Twilio announces another round of layoffs, cutting 17% of workforce | Mint” Mint, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.livemint.com/news/twilio-announces-another-round-of-layoffs-cutting-17-of-workforce-11676333122835.html
11. “Twilio to cut around 17% of workforce as it aims to streamline business By Investing.com” Investing.com Canada, 13 Feb. 2023, https://ca.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/twilio-to-cut-around-17-of-workforce-as-it-aims-to-streamline-business-432SI-2901185
