Vimeo Cuts Staff After Bending Spoons Acquisition
▼ Summary
– Vimeo is conducting global layoffs just months after its acquisition by the Italian software company Bending Spoons for $1.38 billion.
– Former employees and a VP state that “a large portion” or “almost everyone” at the company was impacted, including entire teams like video.
– This is Vimeo’s second round of layoffs in under six months, following a 10% reduction just before the acquisition was announced.
– The layoffs raise concerns about the future of content hosted on the platform, such as shows from creators like Dropout.
– Bending Spoons has a history of laying off staff at companies it acquires, including WeTransfer, Filmic, and Evernote.
The video hosting platform Vimeo has initiated a significant workforce reduction globally, a move coming just months after its acquisition by the Italian software firm Bending Spoons. This strategic shift follows the $1.38 billion deal finalized earlier this year and represents the second major round of layoffs for the company in a short period. While the exact number of affected employees remains undisclosed, former executives and staff describe the cuts as extensive, impacting a substantial portion of the organization and raising immediate questions about the platform’s future operations and content ecosystem.
Former Vice President of Brand Dave Brown stated on LinkedIn that “a large portion of the company” was impacted. This sentiment is reinforced by posts from other departing employees across social media. One video engineer claimed that “almost everyone” at Vimeo was let go, specifying that this included the entire video team. Another software engineer described being laid off alongside “a gigantic amount of the company.” A spokesperson for Bending Spoons, Camilla Bettinelli, confirmed the layoffs to media outlets but declined to provide specific figures regarding the scale of the job cuts.
Reports from Israel earlier this week indicated that Vimeo was dismissing “most” of its employees in that country. This latest action comes less than six months after the company cut 10 percent of its workforce in September, an event that occurred just one week before Bending Spoons publicly announced its acquisition plans. The consecutive reductions have sparked concern among creators and users about potential impacts on the service and the content it hosts, including popular series from producers like Dropout.
The acquisition and subsequent restructuring align with a pattern observed in Bending Spoons’ corporate history. The Italian company has a track record of implementing staff reductions after purchasing other tech firms. Previous acquisitions such as WeTransfer, Filmic, and Evernote were followed by similar layoffs, suggesting a consistent operational strategy focused on consolidation and integration following a buyout. The situation continues to develop as the newly structured organization moves forward under its current ownership.
(Source: The Verge)
