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Flexport founder Ryan Peterson said in September – following the sudden departure of its CEO-elect – that the logistics company needed to get its house in order.
It began with Peterson turning down dozens of employment offers and planning to lease out the company’s office space because he wanted to keep costs under control. Now the company is laying off 20 percent of its employees i.e. about 600 people. The layoffs, which began Oct. 13, are the latest drama to roil the company since Dave Clark resigned as CEO last month and Peterson once again took the top leadership post.
Peterson said in a blog post on the company’s website that he and a leadership team “evaluated every role in the company and its relationship to solving critical supply chain problems for our customers. As a result, we are confident that the force This reduction will not impact the customer experience we provide to our customers today.
Peterson also noted that the company has more than $1 billion in net cash. “Following this transformation, Flexport is now in an excellent position to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us to return to profitability by the end of next year,” he wrote.
Clark, Amazon’s former consumer chief, resigned suddenly in September. At the time, Pietersen criticized Clarke for overspending – particularly in terms of recruitment and expanding too quickly. It should be noted that Clark’s appointment and larger “entrepreneurial” vision for Flexport was hardly a secret. Clark was actually co-CEO with Peterson for at least the first six months of the job. According to Peterson’s own observations In September 2022. Peterson then stepped into the role of acting chairman.
Peterson and the board also signed off on the acquisition of Shopify’s logistics unit by Flexport, a major expansion for the company that provides ocean, air, truck and rail freight forwarding and brokerage services. Shopify received stock that represented approximately 13% equity interest in Flexport as part of the agreement.
It is unclear which departments were most affected by the layoffs. An employee adjustment and retraining notification notice said 165 workers in Bellevue, Washington, have already been notified.
Peterson wrote in his blog post that support for Flexport employees will vary by geography. US workers will get 9 weeks of leave, 2 months of extended health care and immigration assistance through the end of the year. Peterson said a team of recruiters will work with more than 300 companies to help laid-off employees find new jobs.
