Upstart Laid off 7% Of Its Whole Workforce

According to sources, Upstart, a lending giant, let go of 140 staff members, which is 7% of its whole workforce, who assist with loan application processing. On Tuesday, the cloud-based AI lending platform informed the affected employees about the layoff. The company, which confirmed the layoffs, stated that Upstart employed roughly 2,000 employees. According to Upstart spokesperson Mike Nelson, "Given the challenging economy, we are making this difficult decision for the long-term health of the company. We do not expect any further layoffs, and continue to hire for roles that are strategic to our business." [caption id="attachment_58042" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: layoffstracker[/caption] Furthermore, the company made the decision as a result of continuous economic difficulties and the "reduction in the volume of loans" on its platform, according to Upstart's most recent 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The business, however, did not reveal the precise decline in its lending volumes. More details The California-based company recorded a 72% yearly growth in loan volumes on its platform from 456,610 in the first half of 2021 to a total of 786,675 in the same time a year later in its most recent quarterly results, which were released in August. Additionally, the third quarter's earnings are due on November 8. [caption id="attachment_58040" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: techcrunch[/caption] Due to the U.S. Federal Reserve's large increases in interest rates to address the global rise in inflation, Upstart is having trouble raising money because there is less of a demand for loans in the country. In addition, this year, the share price of the corporation fell by 84%. Moreover, Tuesday's afternoon trade saw Upstart trading at $22.88. On another note, after making its public debut in November 2020, Upstart's market valuation increased to around $32 billion at one point. Since then, early on Tuesday, the company's total stock value plummeted to under $2 billion. [caption id="attachment_58043" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: thestatesman[/caption] In other news, unfavorable economic conditions have affected several technological enterprises worldwide in addition to the lending sector. As a result, telehealth unicorn Cerebral, SurveyMonkey's parent company Momentive Global as well as the online real estate marketplace Zillow let go of employees recently. In addition, companies like Netflix, Spotify, and Tencent made similar decisions. Lastly, in response to the decline in funding and investments, Indian firms like Byju's and Ola have also let go of their staff members.