Flexe is trimming its headcount again in another round of layoffs.
The Seattle-based startup cut 38% of its workforce, CEO Karl Siebrecht confirmed Monday. Update: A new filing from the Washington state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) system revealed 99 affected workers.
“We remain committed to supporting our departing employees and to continuing to provide world class service to our customers,” Siebrecht told GeekWire.
Flexe previously laid off staff in September, including 131 positions in Washington state.
The company did not provide an updated headcount, but Flexe employed about 260 people before the latest cuts. A former Flexe employee posted about a Slack thread for impacted workers.
The layoffs reflect how quickly times have changed for startups such as Flexe that raised gobs of venture capital but are now facing roadblocks on multiple fronts — both industry-specific hurdles and broader market challenges.
Flexe, which helps online retailers with warehousing space and other shipping needs, is among a crop of logistics startups that have been forced to cut costs in recent months.
Seattle-based digital trucking marketplace Convoy, which reached a $3.8 billion valuation in 2022, abruptly shut down late last year.
Flexe was another so-called “unicorn,” reaching a $1 billion valuation in 2022 after it raised a $119 million Series D round. At the time, Flexe was coming off big growth, fueled by a pandemic-driven surge in online shopping and higher freight volumes.
After the company raised its Series D round, Siebrecht told GeekWire that “we need to be really smart about how we manage that cash given the market uncertainty,” adding, “we have to make investments in scalable growth — not just growth itself.”
Tech startups across various industries continue to lay off staff or shut down, as venture capitalists remain cautious about deploying money after years of skyrocketing valuations amid lower interest rates. GeekWire reported Monday about Seattle-based camper van startup Cabana closing up shop.
Less than a year ago, Flexe won Next Tech Titan honors at the GeekWire Awards in May.
The company’s former longtime CTO David Glick stepped down in January.
Flexe investors include Activate Capital, Madrona Venture Group, Prologis Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc., and Tiger Global. Funds and accounts managed by BlackRock invested in the Series D round.
