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'Tense' atmosphere at Freshworks since CEO announced details of March layoffs: Report
As many as 114 employees were relieved by the company in March, just three months after 90 workers were handed pink slips by the Nasdaq-listed SaaS firm.
According to a report, the atmosphere has been ‘tense’ at Freshworks, a Nasdaq-listed software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm, since Monday, when co-founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham announced details of the fresh round of layoffs, which the company undertook in March, with the number of employees laid off revealed to be 114.
Of those affected, 90 individuals were relieved due to performance-related issues, while the remaining 24 roles were eliminated, reported Moneycontrol, quoting an employee who spoke to the publication on the condition of anonymity.
“There are roles that have become redundant, such as those within the diversity, equity, and inclusivity teams, as well as some in the content and HR side. These, therefore, stand eliminated by the company now,” said the employee citing information given by Mathrubootham.
Mathrubootham, who spoke at the quarterly internal All-Hands meeting, attributed the job cuts to ‘tight macroeconomic condition,’ and indicated that ‘worst is yet to come,’ the staffer added.
Giving further details of the founder-CEO’s address, this current Freshworks member said, “Multiple questions from the employees’ anonymous chatbox were raised, including those on why was there a layoff, that too at a time when the job market was facing a downturn. ‘G’ (as Mathrubootham is addressed within the organisation) answered every question in detail, but seemed pretty upset himself.”
The fresh layoffs, meanwhile, came three months after Freshworks laid off 90 staff members globally, or 2% of its then total workforce. At present, the firm is serviced by around 5,200 employees globally.
