Airtable, a platform that makes app development easier, has announced plans to lay off 27% of its workforce. 237 employees will be laid off as a result of the layoffs.
While employees across departments will be affected, the product and sales divisions that deal with smaller clients will bear the brunt of the impact. Airtable laid off over 250 employees, or roughly 20% of its workforce, in December 2022, spanning departments such as business development and engineering. This is the second round of layoffs scheduled for 2023.
The decision is part of the company’s strategy to focus on securing large enterprise clients while also controlling costs. The company wishes to take a more mature approach to business management while maintaining a focus on sustainability and efficiency in its growth efforts.
According to the company’s statement, the affected employees received at least 16 weeks of severance pay as well as other benefits such as expedited equity vesting and assistance from an immigration attorney if they were on a visa.
Airtable, based in the United States, was founded in 2013 by Howie Liu and co-founders Andrew Ofstad and Emmett Nicholas. The company began as a cloud-based spreadsheet startup aiming to compete with Microsoft Excel.
It functions as a versatile database and spreadsheet tool, making it simple for users, even those unfamiliar with coding, to create custom apps and workflows. The versatility and user-friendliness of the company’s interface cater to a wide range of industries and purposes, from project management and content planning to customer relationship management.
