Kickstarter Loses Nearly 40 Percent of Its Workforce After Layoffs and Buyouts

Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter filed a regulatory notice in New York last week revealing it had laid off 25 employees, or about 18 percent of its workforce. But according to The Verge, Kickstarter told them that its workforce reduction "is more than twice that, as close to 30 employees decided to take voluntary buyouts as negotiated between the company's management and Kickstarter's employee union." From the report: "The filing is correct, however, it does not reflect an international employee that was affected, nor does it take into account further staff reduction via the voluntary buyouts offered to staff. In total, we'll see a 39 percent reduction in staff," a Kickstarter spokesperson tells The Verge. "The majority of those leaving chose voluntary separation packages, and everyone affected is staying on through this week through the transition."

The layoffs were first reported on Wednesday by Business Insider. The Verge reported last month that Kickstarter CEO Aziz Hasan had informed staff that the layoffs were imminent in an internal memo. At the time, Hasan cited a 35 percent drop in new projects on the platform with "no clear sign of rebound." [...] As part of deal, Kickstarter ultimately offered departing employees a severance package that includes four months' pay, four months of health care coverage for employees making more than $110,001 a year and six months for those who make less, nullification of any non-compete agreements in place, and a chance to rejoin the company if their job reopens within the year.

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