Hootsuite plans 30% worldwide workforce cuts

Social media management platform Hootsuite is laying off 30% of its staff worldwide and around 400 people will be laid off, said multiple media reports. According to CEO Tom Keiser, the lay offs are not a reflection of the work but rather the company's attempt to refocus, according to TechCrunch.

The move comes shortly after Hootsuite rebranded itself to assert its deep knowledge of all things social media, as well as encourage other brands to stand out and join the social conversation authentically. The team built its rebrand activation in-house, leveraging the expertise of its creative, social and functional teams. As part of the rebrand, Hootsuite gave its iconic Owly a visual makeover, and appointed it as chief connection officer. Keiser had also then said that after 14 years defining the industry, it was time to rethink the brand’s integrated branding strategy to better reflect its position and direction as the social experts and trusted partners.

With talks of a recession looming ahead, many tech companies have taken added precaution to whether the impending storm. Other than Hootsuite, Facebook’s parent firm Meta, announced that it was cutting back on hiring with macroeconomic headwinds causing the company to downgrade its outlook. In a Q&A with employees, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Meta was reducing plans to hire engineers by at least 30% due to market downturn and the upcoming recession.  Meanwhile, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek also told employees that it was slowing its hiring by 25% due to the increasing uncertainty regarding the global economy. Tesla, Microsoft, Nvidia, Snap, Coinbase have all also made announcements in a similar fashion. 

In Singapore, just a few days ago, Shopify begun terminating its employees in its Singapore office. On a global level, 10% of its workforce of 10,000 employees will be impacted. 

Related articles:
Hootsuite breaks free from 'sea of sameness' with brand refresh
Tesla lays off SG country manager amidst 10% workforce reduction globally
Shopify makes cuts to Singapore staff