Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson has announced that the company is laying off 11% of its workforce as tighter economic conditions set in. Lawson said that the company had been growing too quickly over the last few years and now wants to scale back operations so that it focuses on core products and services.
Going forward the company said it has four priorities that will help it reach profitability, they include: (1) investing in platform reliability and trust, (2) increasing the profitability of messaging, (3) accelerating Segment adoption, and (4) scaling the Flex customer base.
In his statement, Lawson seemingly made a shot at Meta and Alphabet. He said that Twilio doesn’t expect its workforce to do more with fewer employees, rather he wants the company to focus on fewer things with an emphasis on quality.
Those who were impacted by the decision, roughly 866 employees, were notified in a timely manner after the announcement. The areas that have been most impacted are Go To Market, research and development, and general and administrative.
All those affected will receive at least 12 weeks of pay, plus a week of pay for each year they’ve worked for the company. They will also get the full value of the company’s next stock vest. The firm said it will have additional support available for those being sacked who are in the country on a Twilio-sponsored visa.
For those that have been laid off, the company’s Talent Acquisition team will be accessible if former employees think they fill the criteria for open roles at the company. Those that don’t meet these requirements will be able to put their names on a list, so they can be informed of any other companies that are hiring. This will let them move into a new role quickly.