Twilio Layoffs Impact 17% of Workforce After 11% Cuts Last Fall

Cloud communications software company Twilio is cutting 17% of its workforce — that’s about 1,500 employees. CNBC reports that number is based on the roughly 9,000 employees who worked for the company as of September of last year.

Twilio’s Jeff Lawson

Jeff Lawson, Twilio co-founder and CEO, sent an email to employees explaining the layoffs. The company needed significant structural changes and had to “spend less, streamline and become more efficient.”

Closing Offices

Lawson also said that the communications division of the company had “gotten too big.” It’s a significant reason Twilio is letting go of some of its employees.

To further cut costs, the company will close several Twilio offices over the next few months. It will redirect funds to travel to increase employee interaction in an era of remote work.

In September, Twilio laid off 11% of its workforce, as the company cited restructuring as a reason.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why we’re making additional cuts to the team after the September layoffs,” Lawson said. “At that time, we sought to streamline the company as it was then structured. Today’s news, however, is more driven by the need to organize ourselves differently for success – and the changes needed to enact this new structure. Both the reorganization and the reductions increase our ability to drive profit and growth.”

For former Twilio employee Fatima Aliyeva, the impact of the recent Twilio layoff has potentially far-reaching implications. The senior enterprise customer success manager posted on LinkedIn that her visa is at stake.

“As of this morning, my incredibly talented customer success organization has been impacted by the layoffs taking place at Twilio. My role has been eliminated, too,” Aliyeva said. “I am on an H-1B visa and have 60 days to find a job and transfer my visa to a new employer. The environment makes this tough timeline even worse.”

Wall Street reacted positively to the news. Twilio shares were up 2.7% as of 1:09 p.m. ET Monday.

Additionally, a source close to Channel Futures said that “after the dust settles” that Twilio’s partner organization would not be impacted for the most part by the layoffs. The company currently works with consulting, technology and platform partners.