Fintech company that specializes in recurring payments, Direct Debit processing, and Open Banking, GoCardless, has revealed plans to downsize its workforce by 15%, which is about 135 roles, in a bid to cut costs.
The layoffs will affect its offices in the U.K., U.S., and New Zealand, which will see senior leadership roles reduced by 25%, taking the company’s total workforce to 800 employees.
In addition to the layoffs, the fintech startup will move 15 roles from the UK to Riga Latvia, bringing the total number of impacted roles to 150, which is 17% headcount.
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Speaking on the company’s proposed layoff plans, GoCardless CEO Hiroki Takeuchi said,
“In the light of the current economic environment, we have decided to focus our efforts on the core areas of our business and reduce our investment initiatives with longer-term payback.
“We can see that our revenue will continue to grow strongly, and the changes we are announcing today will get us within touching distance of profitability in the near future. This will make us one of the very few technology companies that is generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, growing fast, and being profitable. We need to be disciplined, we need to be careful and be more cautious about how we are deploying our investments and make sure that we are really driving that growth in a more profitable way”.
Laid-off employees will receive two months’ worth of pay, pay for the notice period, unused time off, and any bonuses. Also, employees who take up voluntary exit will receive an additional month’s pay on top.
Founded in 2011, GoCardless processes direct debit payments and recurring transactions withdrawn from a customer’s bank account for things like subscriptions and invoices for its business clients.
The company offers an API that enables businesses to integrate GoCardless into their websites or applications, as well as pre-built integrations with accounting and billing software such as Zuora, Xero, and QuickBooks.
GoCardless eliminates the pain point of getting paid for businesses that regularly invoice customers, or offer subscription, membership, or installment plans to customers. Through a world-class API and integrations with major billing and subscription software, GoCardless allows businesses to collect payments with ease, using authorized bank debit schemes around the world.
The startup processes about US$10 billion worth of payments in a year for around 40,000 businesses. As of 2022, it reportedly processed $30 billion worth of transactions across its operations in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. It also raised $312 million in the same year and was valued at $2.1 billion.