Airtable, a platform that simplifies app development, has announced plans to let go of 27 per cent of its workforce. The layoffs will affect 237 employees.
While employees across departments will be affected, the maximum impact will be seen on the product and sales divisions that deal with smaller clients. In December 2022, Airtable let go of more than 250 employees, that is, about 20 per cent of the workforce, spanning departments such as business development and engineering. This is the second round of layoffs in 2023.
The decision is a part of the company’s strategy to concentrate on securing major enterprise clients while also managing expenses. The company wishes to adopt a more mature approach to running the business, without losing focus on sustainability and efficiency in its growth efforts.
As per the company’s statement, the affected employees were provided with a minimum of 16 weeks of severance pay and other benefits, including expedited equity vesting and assistance from an immigration attorney if they were on a visa.
The US-based, Airtable, was established in 2013 by Howie Liu, along with co-founders Andrew Ofstad and Emmett Nicholas. The company initially started as a cloud-based spreadsheet startup aimed at competing with Microsoft Excel.
It serves as a flexible database and spreadsheet tool, making it easy for users, even those who are not well versed with coding, to build custom apps and workflows. The company’s versatility and user-friendly interface cater to a wide range of industries and purposes, from project management and content planning to customer-relationship management.
