Shopify joins growing list of tech layoffs as pandemic bet ‘didn’t pay off’

Shopify is tightening its belt in the face of slowing sales growth as consumers return to their old shopping habits and decrease their reliance on e-commerce.

The e-commerce company announced Tuesday it was laying off about 10% of its workforce. The move will impact roughly 1,000 employees, with the bulk of the cuts in recruiting, support and sales roles.

The company said it would also cut “over-specialized” and duplicate roles, along with some groups “that were convenient to have but too far removed from building products,” CEO Tobi Lutke told staff in a memoThe Wall Street Journal first reported news of the memo, which the company later posted on its website.

Shopify, which powers merchants’ e-commerce businesses by handling everything from payments to shipping, is just the latest tech company to announce layoffs amid a tough economic environment as interest rates surge and consumers brace for a potential recession. Companies that have trimmed their headcount so far include Netflix, Unity, Lyft and Vimeo.

The downsizing announcement marks a precipitous drop for a company that was one of the pandemic’s early darlings, as merchants relied on their online shops to make up for lost brick-and-mortar sales. 

That led Shopify to expand its team to keep up with projected sales growth. But Lutke told employees that he overestimated how long the e-commerce pandemic boom would last, expecting at the time that the adaptation of online shopping would have permanently jumped ahead by five or 10 years. 

“It’s now clear that bet didn’t pay off,” Lutke said in the memo to employees. “What we see now is the mix reverting to roughly where pre-Covid data would have suggested it should be at this point. Still growing steadily, but it wasn’t a meaningful 5-year leap ahead. Our market share in ecommerce is a lot higher than it is in retail, so this matters. Ultimately, placing this bet was my call to make and I got this wrong. Now, we have to adjust.”

Shares of Shopify have plunged from its pandemic highs in recent months, dipping more than 77% year-to-date. The company is set to report earnings Wednesday before the bell.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90772855/shopify-joins-growing-list-of-tech-layoffs-as-pandemic-bet-didnt-pay-off?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Erstellt 3y | 26.07.2022, 16:21:24


Melden Sie sich an, um einen Kommentar hinzuzufügen

Andere Beiträge in dieser Gruppe

Yahoo Creators platform hits record revenue as publisher bets big on influencer-led content

Yahoo’s bet on creator-led content appears to be paying off. Yahoo Creators, the media company’s publishing platform for creators, had its most lucrative month yet in June.

Launched in M

11.07.2025, 17:30:04 | Fast company - tech
GameStop’s Nintendo Switch 2 stapler sells for more than $100,000 on eBay after viral mishap

From being the face of memestock mania to going viral for inadvertently stapling the screens of brand-new video game consoles, GameStop is no stranger to infamy.

Last month, during the m

11.07.2025, 12:50:04 | Fast company - tech
Don’t take the race for ‘superintelligence’ too seriously

The technology industry has always adored its improbably audacious goals and their associated buzzwords. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is among the most enamored. After all, the name “Meta” is the resi

11.07.2025, 12:50:02 | Fast company - tech
Why AI-powered hiring may create legal headaches

Even as AI becomes a common workplace tool, its use in

11.07.2025, 12:50:02 | Fast company - tech
Gen Zers are posting their unemployment era on TikTok—and it’s way too real

Finding a job is hard right now. To cope, Gen Zers are documenting the reality of unemployment in 2025.

“You look sadder,” one TikTok po

11.07.2025, 10:30:04 | Fast company - tech
The most effective AI tools for research, writing, planning, and creativity

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. 

11.07.2025, 10:30:04 | Fast company - tech