Bumble Layoffs: Online Dating Platform To Cut 350 Jobs

Chief Executive Officer Lidiane Jones stated during a call with analysts that these layoffs aim to centralise engineering and product teams in fewer locations, facilitating quicker decision-making

The online dating platform Bumble Inc. has announced that it will trim approximately one-third of its workforce after experiencing a recent executive shakeup. This decision comes as the online dating app company endeavours to revamp its app to reignite sluggish user growth. On Tuesday, the Austin-based company announced plans to cut approximately 350 positions worldwide alongside its quarterly results. 

Chief Executive Officer Lidiane Jones stated during a call with analysts that these layoffs aim to centralise engineering and product teams in fewer locations, facilitating quicker decision-making. The company's focus will be on prioritising artificial intelligence and safety features. As per a separate filing, Bumble had over 950 full-time employees by the end of 2022, with around 770 situated outside the US, reported Bloomberg.

As a consequence of the layoffs, the company anticipates incurring non-recurring charges ranging from $ 20 million to $ 25 million. Bumble projects annual savings of approximately $ 55 million from these job cuts. Chief Financial Officer Anuradha Subramanian stated that out of these savings, around $ 15 million will be reinvested selectively in product development, engineering, safety enhancements, and brand initiatives aimed at fostering long-term growth.

Bumble provided a revenue forecast of $ 262 million to $ 268 million for the current quarter, below the average analyst estimate of $ 277.6 million. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $ 273.6 million, also below expectations. As a result, shares declined by 6.8 per cent in extended trading.

Bumble is undergoing an organisational restructuring following founder Whitney Wolfe Herd's announcement in November that she would step down as CEO and assume the role of executive chair. Lidiane Jones, who joined from Salesforce Inc.'s Slack Technologies in January, appointed four new C-suite executives at Bumble last week, including two from her former organisation.

The new team is tasked with overseeing this major overhaul of the dating app in the second quarter, the first such update in two years, aimed at enhancing its appeal to younger users, according to Jones. The company aims to address the slowdown in paying user growth observed since late 2021, attributing it to the plethora of product features introduced over the past 18 months, which have adversely impacted overall app performance and user experience.

The CEO noted that the active user base is experiencing a "generational shift," with users increasingly demanding more from their dating experiences.

“We have a lot of users today that love the paradigm of the online dating — swiping and discovery and searching — but there’s also a set of users that want more flexibility to be able to experience and discover people in a more organic and natural way,” Jones said on the call, as per the report.