Atlanta, Georgia-based digital privacy management company Onetrust has decided to let go of 25% of its workforce on Thursday.
The company’s CEO Kabir Barday has released a statement though his LinkedIn post that the company has decided to shed 25% of its workforce which is around 950 employees.
The layoffs seem to have been spread across the departments and various levels of roles across the Globe – Atlanta, Bengaluru, London.
Kabir Barday mentions that this decision was driven by current global financial conditions. It is also to note that the company had laid off 10-15% of the workforce across its departments in the early stage of the pandemic, around April 2020.
The company had also recently launched its trust intelligence platform which was established under a new technology category that was solely focused on solving critical business challenges around privacy trust and transparency. The layoff news comes just 2 weeks after the company’s launch of a new product.
The company has so far accumulated a total funding amount of $926 million and has acquired around 10 companies since its origin as per Crunchbase.
The company was felicitated as a tech unicorn coming out of Atlanta. The company was also ranked as cities fastest growing company by Atlanta based news outlet in 2019.
The size of the Onetrust layoffs is the biggest so far in the month of June. This news comes as shock to huge number of impacted employees after the company shared, it was right on track to beat it yearly revenue goals last month.
Statement from the CEO Kabir Barday
OneTrust Team,
Today is one of the most challenging days in our 6-year history as a company as we reduced our employee headcount by 950 employees, which is approximately 25% of our workforce – all talented team members who have helped us with our incredible growth and success. This decision was not easy, and it is with a heavy heart that I deliver this news.
I know this news is surprising, especially as you heard last month that the business is on track with record quarters and increasing customer demand. However, capital markets sentiment shifted to a more balanced approach between growth and profitability, and at this time, we have decided the best course of action is to reorganize to position OneTrust for continued long-term success.
It is my role as CEO to ensure that OneTrust continues to thrive. And while evaluating all potential scenarios created by these changes, it is critical to be proactive, and this reduction is the solution we chose to help us meet the new challenges ahead of us.
The decision to reduce our workforce is the result of an extensive evaluation process and is not a reflection of the performance of any one person or team. There is no sugar-coating it, this reorganization is painful for all of us – and this is a decision that I own as CEO, and the impact on our team members and their families is something I do not take lightly.
For our team members who are leaving us, we are providing resources and assistance via severance packages, equity, and extended medical coverage. We are also creating an opt-in network for our former team members which will provide them with ongoing access to training, as well as facilitate connections to companies looking for access to talent.
As with any change, the resilience we’ve built as a company will be tested. We’ve proven in the past that we can emerge stronger as a company by adapting quickly, and I’m confident that we have the strength to pull together through this challenging time. As we look ahead to our next chapter, we will find new opportunities and successes as we scale the business.
There are exciting days ahead for OneTrust as we transform into the Trust Intelligence Platform company. But today, I want to acknowledge and thank our team members who will be moving on. I also want you to know that I recognize this news is difficult, and you will need time to process. To support you, we encourage you to leverage our unlimited PTO policy to take well-being days over the next several weeks. In addition, the leadership team and I will make ourselves available to you as we speak with each of our international offices and teams over the coming weeks. You will see Town Hall structured meetings with me in addition to Ask Me Anything invitations dedicated to your team. You will also be receiving invitations to a virtual All Hands meeting with me being held tomorrow morning as well as a virtual meeting with your respective business unit leaders.
I want to reassure you that OneTrust is positioned for this next chapter as a company. Our vision for Trust Intelligence – bringing together privacy, ethics, ESG, GRC – has the potential to be one of the most impactful software categories of the next generation. Our rapidly growing customer base has crossed 12,000 organizations, and all of them are on the journey of trust transformation with us. I recognize today is a painful day for our company, but I am confident in the resilience of our teams as together, we look ahead to our next chapter.
Kabir Barday
Chief Executive Officer
