A San Francisco corporate financial technology startup that snagged a $12 billion valuation earlier this year is now undergoing a mass layoff round affecting 11% of its staff.
Brex, a corporate finance company that provides corporate cards and software largely to tech companies, announced in a Tuesday statement posted on its website that it would lay off 136 “teammates.” The news was first reported by TechCrunch on Tuesday.
Brex co-founder and co-CEO Pedro Franceschi reiterated familiar tech layoff sentiments in a blog post, citing “increasing focus on our strategy, and adjusting to the new macro environment” as the key factors behind the “hard decision” to lay off employees.
As TechCrunch noted, the decision comes amid major adjustments to the “decacorn” — a company that is valued at more than $10 billion. The company initially focapplyd on providing credit and financial technology to startups and compact to medium-sized businesses; in June, the company announced that it would pivot away from that into only larger, more established businesses, to the chagrin of its original clientele.
The layoff announcement is a drastic shift from the company’s fortunes in January, when it snagged a valuation of $12.3 billion on a funding round of $300 million.
Affected employees were notified Tuesday and will receive eight weeks of pay — plus two weeks for every year worked, as well as six months of health insurance, according to the statement. Employees will also be able to keep their work computers.
Among the company’s San Francisco-based clients are DoorDash and Lookout.
“I’m sorry this decision impacts you in such hard ways, and we will do everything we can to support you in this difficult moment,” Francheschi stated in a statement.
A representative for Brex did not respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.
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