ClickUp, a productivity platform that was last valued at $4B, cuts 10% of workforce

ClickUp, the software-as-a-service startup that offers a workforce productivity platform and counts storied investors Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global among its backers, has laid off 10% of its workforce. With a total headcount of about 900 employees, it represents approximately 90 people. The company says it looks to become more efficient and be better positioned for a public listing amid the ongoing slowdown in the market.

The San Diego-based startup notified some of its affected employees about layoffs last Thursday, TechCrunch learned and later confirmed through an email. Other employees who are also impacted by the job-cut decision will transition out over the next few months. People affected included those from the software engineering division as well as customer service and support teams.

“We made the difficult decision to reduce the size of our workforce, primarily to move a portion of our support roles to lower-cost regions,” said Zeb Evans, founder and CEO of ClickUp, in a statement to TechCrunch. “This realignment enables us to be a greatest-in-class IPO-ready company in efficiency while continuing to overachieve in growth.”

Impacted employees will receive a severance package lasting 12 weeks, six months of insurance coverage and six months of access to the startup’s employee assistance program. In addition, the startup has allowed the laid-off employees to retain their laptops and equipment and has extended support to those on a visa.

In 2022, ClickUp laid off 7% of its staff as a part of its restructuring. At the time, as reported by Protocol, a ClickUp spokesperson described the move as a “one-time decision” to stay on track toward profitability.

ClickUp names Booking.com, IBM, Spotify, T-Mobile and Netflix among its customers. It provides a unified platform for document collaboration, project management, spreadsheets and chat. The startup also recently followed in big tech businesses’ footsteps and introduced its AI-based assisting solution.

Founded by Zeb Evans and Alex Yurkowski in 2017, ClickUp raised $400 million in a Series C funding round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global at a post-money valuation of $4 billion. The startup also includes Lightspeed Venture Partners, Meritech Capital Partners, Craft Ventures and Georgian Partners among its investors.

“We are very grateful for the contributions of the employees who have been impacted and are committed to supporting them throughout this transition. At the same time, we will continue to hire for roles aligned with our mission, especially those geared towards product and revenue,” the CEO said.