One day, you're announcing that you've hit unicorn status, the next day you're telling your employees "around 12%" of current staff will be leaving the company shortly.
This is the latest sign-of-the-times event playing out over at Beamery, the London startup that helps companies - ironically - 'build a future-proof agile workforce' with a variety of solutions.
Tech.eu has learned that the British HR tech scale-up, which announced a $50 million fundraise at a $1 billion+ valuation just last month, has informed staff in an all-hands call and subsequent company-wide email that it will be laying off more than a tenth of its staff.
The news was shared with all employees on Tuesday this week.
Asked for comment, the company provided us with the following statement:
"We have made some difficult decisions and our primary focus is supporting employees that may be impacted by this process and helping talented people that have helped to build this company."
In the company email, Beamery got more specific, referring to the inflation and energy crises, high interest rates and "sparser startup funding" as the main drivers behind its decision.
The startup also points out that it had engaged in a number of cost-cutting measures across its business, including with regards to executive bonuses, but that the layoffs are needed to prep Beamery for a "sustainable future".
According to LinkedIn, Beamery employs close to 450 people, primarily in the UK and US at present. A 12% staff reduction would thus mean more than 50 people will need to start looking for a new job in the following weeks.
It's unclear what the company has offered departing staff members.
Based in London, Beamery offers up an AI-powered talent lifecycle management platform, one that encompasses sourcing new talent, helping it thrive, and keeping groomed employees happy in the stables.
According to the company, they’ve seen quite an increase in the number of Fortune 500 clients amongst its client base, including the BBC, Uber, General Motors, Accenture and Johnson & Johnson, noting that the big players have accounted for a revenue rise of over 250% since the company’s $138 million Series C round (which was announced in June 2021).
Beamery backers include VC firms such as Index Ventures, Microsoft's M12 fund, EQT Ventures, Workday Ventures, LocalGlobe and Edenred Capital.
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