Dive Brief:
- Recent layoffs at e-learning company Udemy saw the company lose 10% of its global workforce, CEO Gregg Coccari said in a letter to staff published on Udemy’s website Feb. 14.
- Coccari attributed the need for layoffs to the “macroeconomic environment,” adding that Udemy had slowed hiring and reduced spending in the past year. “These steps were taken thoughtfully and aimed at avoiding the necessity of making any adjustments to our Udemate team,” he said. “Unfortunately, the macroeconomic environment continued to deteriorate in the back half of last year and we are not immune to this challenging environment.”
- Noting some variance for individual employees and their locations, Coccari said employees affected by the layoffs will be offered a minimum of 13 weeks’ pay, six months of benefits coverage and a bonus payout, as well as other resources.
Dive Insight:
The news may come as a jolt to the learning and development space, particularly given Udemy’s growth during the COVID-19 pandemic and its product’s inclusion in employee training programs.
But the layoffs are also part of a broader wave hitting the technology sector in 2023, a trend that has not spared the human resources space. On the same day as Udemy’s announcement, LinkedIn confirmed an undisclosed number of layoffs to its talent acquisition team.
Tech sector layoffs do not necessarily indicate that affected companies are shedding tech talent, however. Coccari said that Udemy’s layoffs were not indicative of the company’s long-term health.
Employee development may be a significant part of how companies respond to economic uncertainty, according to McKinsey Global Institute research published earlier this month. The firm found that top employers took steps such as providing 70 hours of training per employee per year as well as access to internal promotions and transfers.
