Hopin lays off 29% of staff

Virtual events startup Hopin has laid off 29% of its staff, the cuts come four months after Hopin let another 12% of its staff go. In the latest reduction the staff let go are primarily supporting its events businesses, while no specific teams have been named, it’s reported that senior executives are part of the layoffs. “We’ve made the very difficult decision to reduce our workforce given the current macroeconomic climate and need for our events product to move forward efficiently,” said a Hopin spokesperson. “While we took preventative measures before looking at a more significant restructure, it became necessary to simplify our events business and supporting operations to build a profitable and sustainable company.” The company has raised over USD$1.1 bn and at its height had over 1,000 employees, with plans to go public stalled by market conditions, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a waning interest in virtual platforms post-pandemic. Hopin, once valued at USD$7.8 bn, is one of several online platforms that thrived over the pandemic that has seen a slowdown of growth. Zoom’s stock has fallen 71% in the past year in a similar downturn, alongside other pandemic winners like Pelaton, according to Forbes.