Kickstarter is laying off almost half of its employees thanks to a significant reduction in fundraising projects.
The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked economic havoc on this company and so many others, and with no indication of an end-date to the global crisis said companies are having to make tough decisions.
Kickstarter’s David Gallagher recently reported that “while people are continuing to support live projects on Kickstarter as normal, the COVID crisis has led to a 35% drop in live projects from a year ago.” And seeing as fees placed on funded Kickstarter projects are the only source of income for the staff, this has left the company without a large chunk of its usual revenue.
The result was Kickstarter's CEO Aziz Hasan announcement of sweeping layoffs of up to 45 percent of employees.
This decision will undoubtedly have lasting personal and professional repercussions. However, there are at least a few terms settled upon after negotiations with the OPEIU - to which Kickstarter employees belong - that will help ease the transition of the workers being laid off.
That includes "four months’ reverence, up to six months’ health insurance, and the possibility to ability to return to their current roles within a year if the company is in a position to hire for them."
"We believe this agreement offers security to those we are letting go, and ensures Kickstarter can weather this crisis and serve its mission,” says Gallagher.
Source: Gizmodo