ClickUp unexpectedly lays off 7% of its staff

ClickUp laid off 7% of its staff on Monday morning, in a move that was called “unexpected” by several laid-off employees on LinkedIn. CEO Zeb Evans told Protocol the goal was to ensure ClickUp’s profitability and efficiency in the future.

"Yesterday, we made restructuring changes to optimize our business for utmost efficiency," Evans said. "In doing so, this puts us in a position to accelerate our timeline to profitability and ultimately achieve our goal of going public. We are by no means slowing down or pausing hiring, as we plan to hire 250 people this year and 300 more next year."

ClickUp declined to specify the departments impacted. But based on LinkedIn posts, the layoffs appear to have affected the customer success, communications and talent acquisition teams, among others. Layoffs have swept tech companies in recent weeks. Payment company Klarna laid off 10% of its workforce on Monday as well, and Netflix had another round of layoffs last week. Productivity startup Mural laid off employees a few weeks ago. Carvana laid off 2,500 employees, many over Zoom, angering employees with the impersonal nature of the announcement.

Tech companies are feeling the burn given the market’s downturn. But ClickUp seems financially healthy, making a 7% layoff somewhat confusing. The productivity platform had a massive $400 million funding round last October, putting the company at a $4 billion valuation post-money. It also acquired Slapdash, a universal search tool, last month. The company paid for its first Super Bowl ad slot this February.

ClickUp’s spokesperson described the layoff as a preventative, "one-time decision" to remain on a profitable path.

If you have more information about layoffs at ClickUp or other productivity companies, we want to hear from you. Contact Lizzy Lawrence at llawrence@protocol.com, or if you'd like to send an encrypted email, lizzylaw@protonmail.com.