Santa Clara, California-based Upwork Global, a connection platform for freelancers marketing their services, has announced a 15% reduction in force.
The personnel realignment will impact 137 employees.
According to President & CEO Hayden Brown ...
This morning we shared the difficult news that we are reducing the size of our workforce. I know there is a lot to absorb.
How we got here
The landscape has changed significantly over the last few years and with that, many opportunities have opened up for Upwork, as the world at large became familiar with remote work and started to question old and outdated paradigms for where, how, and with whom work happens. Our business has doubled in three years and we just reached $20 billion of lifetime freelancer earnings on our platform. This was made possible by hard work from all of you, and you can be proud of this. Our mission to create economic opportunities so people have better lives has never felt more urgent or more necessary in a time of constant volatility and change, where talent and businesses alike are seeking out solutions that meet a new set of needs and values.
At the same time, in the past few quarters macroeconomic uncertainty has altered the outlook for many businesses, including some of our customers. We entered this year with an expectation for how our business would fare in this climate, and in the first quarter of 2023, we saw greater-than-expected headwinds, primarily as a result of Enterprise and larger customers further reducing budgets and deferring hiring plans. It became clear that while our business is strong and growing, our full-year revenue would be meaningfully lower than what we had expected.
The actions we are taking
Working as a high-performing and efficient team has always been important to us, and as this year has unfolded, we have been proactive in adapting our plans across hiring, vendor spend and brand media budget—which we are reducing by 94% for the second half of this year—in response to the realities our business is facing. We considered all the tools available to us in adjusting our cost base given the near-term economic uncertainty, and resizing our team for this period of time was a critical step we needed to take. As a result, we are reducing our workforce by approximately 15% of full-time employees, or 137 roles. We are also eliminating a number of hybrid workforce (independent team member) positions.
As with all decisions related to our people, this was one that we undertook with great care. These decisions are primarily a reflection of the environment in which we are operating, and not a reflection of the contributions of our departing teammates. I also want to be clear that these are my decisions, and I hold myself accountable for the path that led us to today. I am aware of the very real impact this will have on our team members, specifically on those of you who will be leaving us, and this weighs heavily on me.
The majority of these reductions are on our Enterprise team. This is not a reflection of our conviction in our Enterprise strategy over the long term. The Enterprise opportunity remains significant.
Beyond Enterprise, we are also eliminating a number of roles in order to streamline operations and drive efficiency in other areas of the business. To be clear, this was not a blanket cost-cutting exercise. Every decision was assessed through the lens of our growth goals, team structures, and business priorities.
What’s next
Knowing these changes are the necessary actions for Upwork today does not make this any less difficult. Empathy and compassion are core to who we are as an organization. This is the day to bring those attributes to the forefront. Please support each other and our departing colleagues in particular.
Hayden
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?