Substack’s CEO says he is “very sorry” to fire 13 people
Substack is the latest technology company to announce layoffs, with the company’s CEO Chris Best tweets on Wednesday that he releases 13 workers. According to Axios, that’s about 14 percent of Substack’s workforce. In the letter and subsequent tweets, Best cites “market conditions” as the reason behind the layoffs.
He also admits that the move may come as a surprise to some employees. “Not so long ago, I told you all that our plan was to expand the team and not make layoffs,”[ads1]; he says, noting that the company “still hires for specific key roles” and has saved money. Best says, however, that the company must change tactics, as it may face “a longer period” where the economy goes from bad to worse. He says the layoffs are one of several changes the company has made to ensure it is in “a strong financial position.”
The people we say goodbye to today are all talented, great people who care deeply about helping readers and writers. It hurts to let them go. We will miss them.
– Chris Best (@cjgbest) June 29, 2022
According to New York Times, some of those laid off were involved in human resources and writer support. The report also says that Substack recently stopped work on securing financing from investors, but that revenues are still growing.
In April, Substack faced a minor controversy over the hiring effort as its vice president of communications tweeted a hiring link While noticing a particular type of employee, she told the company did not wishes. “If you’re a Twitter employee considering quitting because you’m worried that Elon Musk is pushing for less regulated speech … please do not come and work here,” she said. The company has historically said that it places great emphasis on freedom of expression.
Substack is far from the only company that has laid off a significant percentage of its workers in the last month or two. Companies like Tesla, Netflix, Klarna, Better.com and Cameo have all cut jobs, as have several large crypto companies.
