As ironic as it may sound, Indeed, one of the more popular job listing platforms, has announced lay-offs. In a blog post, Indeed CEO Chris Hyams said that the company is letting go 15% of its workforce, accounting to nearly 2200 employees.
These jobs cuts are not specific to any particular division, and will come from nearly every team, function, level and region at Indeed and Indeed Flex.
These job cuts are a result of significantly decreased sponsored job listing volumes, Hyams added in the blog post. Last quarter, US total job openings were down 3.5% year over year, while sponsored job volumes were down 33%. In the US, job openings will likely decrease to pre-pandemic levels of about 7.5 million, or even lower over the next two to three years. Indeed makes most of its revenue from the US.
“With future job openings at or below pre-pandemic levels, our organization is simply too big for what lies ahead. We need clarity, focus, and urgency to ensure that all of our energy is directed towards investing in our future. We have held out longer than many other companies, but the revenue trends are undeniable. So I have decided to act now”, added Hyams.
Impacted employees will soon be scheduled a 1:1 exit interview with their respective leaders, with March 22nd being their last day of employment. These layoffs are with immediate effect, with impacted employees to receive salary through March 31st.
Those impacted, will receive 16 weeks of base salary, or two weeks for every year of service, four months of COBRA (US only), accrued PTO as well as a cash payout equivalent to their respective RSUs scheduled to vest on May 1. These cash payouts will depend on the granting date of RSUs.
Chris Hyames himself will be taking a 25% base pay cut, and mentioned that 75% of his pay is linked to Indeed revenues, wherein he would see obvious decline. The company will be instituting additional cost saving measures moving forward, expected to be announced later today.
Several rounds of layoffs have taken place in some of the largest corporations globally, with tech companies being the most impacted. Pandemic-induced boom in usage of digital platforms led to a hiring spree like never before, resulting in over-hiring by several of the biggest names in tech. Facebook, Microsoft, Google among others have all laid off in 1000s, with several employees publicly coming out against such over-hiring policies. You can read more about these layoffs on our coverage here.
