Nasdaq-listed software firm Freshworks announced its plans to restructure its operations across all locations, including India and the US, by laying off 13 per cent of its workforce. On Wednesday, the company posted lacklustre third quarterly results, with operating loss widening to USD 38.9 million from USD 38.7 million in the same period a year ago.
Total revenue for the quarter improved 22 per cent to USD 186.6 million, but it did not arrest the loss. In an effort to improve operations, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) company founded by then-Chennai-based Girish Mathrubootham plans to cut around 660 jobs.
According to Freshworks CEO Dennis Woodside, the job cuts are expected to incur costs of around USD 11 million to USD 13 million for the upcoming quarter, which will include severance payments and other expenses.
Layoff season is back
The Salesforce competitor joins accounting big-four KPMG as a major brand to announce layoff this week. Reports on Monday said that KPMG was looking to cut at least 330 jobs, or 4 per cent, of its audit workforce in the US.
Last week, the maker of the open-source browser, Mozilla Foundation, announced the layoff of 30 per cent of its workforce.
More job cuts circled the tech sector, with Elon Musk's X laying off an undisclosed number of people, according to The Verge.
Reports in October also revealed that Samsung cut around 10 per cent of the workforce in Southeast Asia and Australia, and TikTok laid off at least 100 people, mostly in Malaysia.
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Edutech firm Coursera also cut 10 per cent of its roles. However, last month's major shocker was aircraft maker Boeing, slashing 10 per cent of its massive workforce, impacting at least 17,000 people.
The layoff trend, which was triggered during the Ukraine war scare, has been in full swing for the past two years. While it showed signs of slowing in the middle of 2024, the latest trends since October paint a gloomy picture for professionals working in the tech sector.