Airtable, last valued at $11 billion for its no-code software, lays off more than 250

Just a few days ago, Airtable released a note on how laid-off workers can use Airtable to search for jobs. "This has been an unwanted theme of 2022 - layoffs," the post read. “Each season seems to usher in a new wave of cuts. Meanwhile, companies cite similar concerns about rising inflation, the looming threat of an economic slowdown and the need for stability in turbulent times. For the souls who have lost their jobs this year, it is another cruel uncertainty that they will have to overcome."

Now Airtable employees are facing the same feeling. Last valued at $11 billion, the no-code leader today proceeded with a series of layoffs that affect approximately 254 employees across business development, engineering and other teams. The company spokesperson says Airtable continues to recruit for "strategically important" positions, and that 20% of staff have been impacted today.

Those affected by Airtable's layoffs today will receive at least 16 weeks of severance, accelerated share vesting and, for those on a visa, the support of an immigration lawyer , according to sources. Employees had the opportunity to meet 1:1 with a company executive, following the news.

In an email obtained by TechCrunch and first seen by tracker Layoffs.fyi, Airtable Founder and CEO Howie Liu said the company will evolve from a product adopted from the bottom up to a company that offers connected apps on a larger scale. companies.

"We quickly grew and executed on multiple fronts. At the time, I thought we could successfully pursue them all in parallel," Liu wrote in the email. our efforts in the current market environment, we have identified the teams best positioned to seize the opportunity across the business to bring complete focus, alignment and accountability to our execution."

That vision was part of the reason TechCrunch spoke with Liu in October, as Airtable announced its more integrated approach to connected apps. Then, the entrepreneur pointed to its $735 million Series F round from 2021 as a happy reason why Airtable has been able to remain well capitalized amid the recession.

"We have more than enough runway to achieve profitability and more," Liu later said in an interview with TechCrunch, "We're a private company, so we're not under pressure to show results in the short term. term of profitability - so we're very, very lucky not to be under so much pressure and we would never be happy about that, but I think it gives us a unique position [to hire talent]."

In today's internal memo, Liu re-emphasized that Airtable is well capitalized, but changed his tone slightly by adding that "being a lean organization becomes doubly important in times of uncertainty. economic". A spokesperson added that all of Airtable's F-series backgrounds are "still intact".

The company reports that the layoff was less a desperate attempt to expand the runway than a decision made to realign the company with what really works. A spokesperson said its business side, which accounts for the majority of Airtable's revenue, is growing more than 100% year-over-year; the product move today simply doubles on that exact cohort.

This entire year has been full of layoffs in the tech sector, but the last quarter has been particularly massive, as macroeconomic pressure hits private start-ups. Yesterday, Plaid announced that it would officially cut 20% of its workforce, about a month after one of the most valuable fintechs, Stripe, cut 14% of its workforce. Elon Musk cut about 50% of Twitter's workforce after buying the social media platform, one of the largest percentage layoffs since the pandemic began.

Like others, Airtable is adopting a leaner and more focused business strategy heading into the new year.

Current and former Airtable employees can contact Natasha Mascarenhas on Signal, a secure encrypted messaging app, at 925 271 0912. You can also DM her on Twitter...