So far in 2022, nearly 1,000 people in the tech sector have lost their jobs due to layoffs.
Vancouver is known as one of the premier tech hubs in North America, and while other parts of Canada and the world have also faced some layoffs, it has been an unfortunate year for many employees in the city.
These are the major layoffs that have impacted Vancouver so far in 2022, with more likely to come before the year is over.
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Hootsuite
The Vancouver-based social media management company Hootsuite was the most recent company to announce layoffs.
Layoffs were announced on August 9 which amounted to a 30% reduction of staff, and BetaKit reported that amounts to approximately 400 employees. Some of that staff was employed in other parts of the world.
“We announced internally that we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure the company and reduce our global workforce by 30%. This sadly means we are saying goodbye to some of our people,” said Hootsuite CEO Tom Keiser.
“These people are our colleagues and our friends. They are some of the best in their fields and we will do whatever we can to help them land elsewhere.”
Article
On August 4, Vancouver-based online furniture store Article announced that layoffs would cut its staff by 17%, or 216 employees.
“This is a first in Article’s 11-year history, and for me personally in my 22 years running teams and organizations,” said Article CEO Aamir Baig.
“Team — this is not your fault, this is my fault.”
Unbounce
The Canadian software company Unbounce produces landing pages for websites. It also hosts the annual Call to Action Conference.
On August 3, Unbounce announced layoffs that impacted 47 employees. The layoffs were part of a “restructuring and reduction.”
Unbounce blamed a turbulent economy for the move.
Thinkific
After a “rigorous review” of the structure of its organization, Vancouver-based Thinkific announced layoffs earlier this year in March.
One hundred employees were let go.
“We have grown from 270 at the end of Q1 2021 to 499 today and have concluded, following a rigorous review of our organizational structure, that with a reduction of 100 in our workforce, we could increase efficiency and lower costs without impacting our growth trajectory,” said Mr. Greg Smith, co-founder and CEO of Thinkific.
Zymeworks
In January, BiopharmaDive reported that the Vancouver-based cancer biotech company Zymeworks was letting go of over 100 employees as part of a company restructuring.
Vancouver is still one of the premier North American tech hubs
Despite the layoffs that have taken place in the city this year, Vancouver is considered one of the premier tech hubs in North America, trailing only Toronto and Seattle when it comes to high-tech job growth.
“Low operating costs contribute to Vancouver’s allure as a tech hub. Vancouver had the fourth lowest operating costs of the 30 top tech markets identified by CBRE,” reads a statement from a Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association report.
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