- SoftBank-backed companies laid off thousands of employees globally in 2020 as they struggled to find paths to profitability.
- In the first full week of 2020, four companies – Oyo, Rappi, Getaround, and Zume – laid off a combined 2,600 employees.
- Other SoftBank-backed companies including WeWork, Uber, Wag, and Fair have also cut their ranks dramatically in 2020.
- SoftBank also saw significant executive turnover in the beginning of 2019.
- If you work at a SoftBank-backed company, Business Insider wants to hear from you. Get in touch on secure messaging app Signal using a non-work phone: 646 768 1627.
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Editor's note: This story was originally published in January 2020 and was updated in January 2021.
Flush with billions of SoftBank dollars, startups ranging from a robot pizza maker to a low-cost hotel operator have swelled their ranks in recent years.
In 2020, as the Japanese investor faces a reckoning about how the companies will become profitable, layoffs hit the companies across the world, and even affected the investor itself.
In the first full week of 2020, four of SoftBank's companies cut a combined 2,600 employees, according to media reports from Business Insider and other outlets. More layoffs would come in the following months, bringing the 2020 cuts to more than 29,000.
Because SoftBank's portfolio is global, with various reporting requirements by location and differing degrees of transparency, that number is likely a vast undercount.
That figure doesn't include groups of employees like WeWork's 1,000 janitorial staff in the US and Canada who were outsourced . Trouble at these companies has knock-on effects since many work with contractors, such as the people that walk dogs for Wag, who enjoy fewer labor protections than full-time employees.
SoftBank is thinking more about portfolio companies' path to profitability. Ahead of investing in Alto Pharmacy through its second mega-fund, SoftBank emphasized profitability in its due diligence process, CEO Matt Gamache-Asselin told Business Insider in early February 2019.
"Really from the beginning, I was surprised by the level of depth and rigor that got put on profitability and economics," he said.
A representative for SoftBank declined to comment.
Business Insider is tracking the layoffs and what's happening at each company. The numbers are based on our own reporting as well as media reports elsewhere. We will continue to update this page as news evolves.
If you currently work for or were previously employed at a SoftBank-backed company and want to get in touch, use encrypted app Signal to text or call this reporter at 646 768 1627. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop .
Via PakApNews