The tech companies that have laid off staff this year as economic turbulence rips through the sector

We’re only a month away from the final quarter of 2022 — a year that could be remembered for its worldwide tech layoffs.

Australia has been no exception, with many local startup and tech companies feeling the post-pandemic burn after a few years of growth. It’s an unfortunate position to be in, especially with the skills shortage still running rampant across the country.

We’ve rounded up tech companies that have had to unfortunately lay off significant amounts of staff so far this year.

Mr Yum: Startup star Mr Yum has had to lay off nearly one in five workers, affecting around 44 people at the company, after “raising headcount too quickly”.

Envato: Australian-born digital asset marketplace Envato confirmed to SmartCompany that redundancies were underway back in June, with as many as 100 roles within the company affected.

Sendle: The parcel delivery startup made 12% of its global workforce redundant last month, affecting around 26 members from its team.

Klarna: Buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Klarna cut 10% of its workforce, with the CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski posting a list of the 560 laid off employees other companies should consider hiring.

Airtasker: CEO Tim Fung confirmed to the Australian Financial Review that a redundancy round took place this year, affecting nine people.

InDebted: The fintech startup that helps people manage overdue payments had both significant staff layoffs and a multimillion-dollar capital raise in July.

Linktree: Aussie unicorn Linktree cut 17% of its staff earlier this month. With a reported 300-strong workforce, the layoff amounts to about 50 staff members.

Shopify : The e-commerce giant cut 10% of its global workforce at the end of July due to ‘a bet that didn’t pay off’, chief executive Tobias Lütke told staff in an email.

Brighte: Brighte laid off 15% of its headcount back in June as bad debts continue to plague the buy-now, pay-later sector — although the company maintains this turbulence isn’t the reason for the staff shaving.

Swyftx: Aussie crypto exchange Swyftx announced it will be laying off 21% of its staff just last week, affecting around 74 individuals.

Immutable: Web3 outfit Immutable confirmed 20 layoffs from its team back in July, just four months after securing a $280 million funding round which brought its valuation to $3.5 billion.

HealthMatch: Health tech startup, backed by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, laid off 50% of its staff in July — around 18 individuals — in an effort to cut its cost base.

Banxa: Crypto payments firm Banxa laid off 30% of its staff last month according to the AFR, citing an extended “crypto winter”.

This list is not exhaustive.