Checkmarx team (Facebook)
The number of layoffs among Israeli Startup Nation high-tech firms keeps rising, and even unicorns – like Rapyd – and big publically traded companies – like Similarweb – are not immune from the global financial crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in March.
Here are the 10 biggest layoff stories from Israel Startup Nation for November 2022.
Rapyd, Israel’s Startup Nation one-time biggest unicorn which not too long ago hit a $15 billion valuation, may be the biggest example (or worst depending on how you look at it) of a Startup Nation firm announcing cutbacks in November. The company may be firing more than 90 people or 10% of its workforce. Rapyd said that the layoffs are coming because of its acquisition of 2 other companies. Firings usually happen after mergers.
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“Now, with the completion of the merger of Vailtor into Rapyd, company executives are currently working on planning for 2023 and 2024 and the company is looking into reducing its workforce,” said Rapyd.
Fellow Israeli unicorn Trax is firing as many as 80 people. Trax said the cuts are coming as part of an effort to reach profitability in 2023.
Founded in 2010 by its Executive Chairman Joel Bar-El together and CCO Dror Feldheim, Trax’s says that its mission is to enable brands and retailers to harness the power of digital technologies to produce the “best shopping experiences imaginable.” Trax’s retail platform allows customers to understand “what is happening on shelf, in every store, all the time so they can focus on what they do best – delighting shoppers.”
OwnBackup, an Israel Startup Nation firm that offers a cloud data backup and recovery platform, announced in November that it is firing 170 employees in Israel and the U.S. This constitutes about 17% of the company’s total workforce. Ownbackup is a unicorn that was recently valued at as much as $3.35 billion, after in August of 2021 the company raised $240 million in a Series E round of investment.
Israeli food company Strauss Group let go of as many as 150 people in November, but these were mostly administrative and front office workers and not people who work at the blue collar jobs in the company’s factories. The layoffs were part of a new restricting plan that Strauss Group is calling StraussONE. The plan, says Strauss, will save the company as much as NIS 80 million annually.
Then there is Similarweb Ltd., an Israel Startup Nation provider of digital intelligence solutions that completed its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange this past May, coming away with a $1.6 billion valuation at the time. But that was before the problems all started for the financial world. The company is now letting go of 130 people, or 10% of its workforce.
Founded in 2007 by CEO Or Offer and Nir Cohen, Similarweb declares its mission to be to deliver the “most trusted, comprehensive, and detailed view of the digital world, so our customers can outperform their competition and win their markets.”
Varonis, an Israeli cyber security company that is publicly traded on the NASDAQ, was also forced to downsize in November because of the ongoing worldwide financial crisis. Varonis let go of 110 employees or about 5% of its estimated 2,270-strong workforce over what the company said was weakness in the European market and concerns that it will spill over into a slowdown into the US market.
Checkmarx, an Israeli cyber security startup, and a unicorn began laying off 100 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, including 40 people in Israel, in November. Founded in 2006, Checkmarx offers software security solutions for modern enterprise software development. Checkmarx boasts that it delivers the industry’s “most comprehensive” software security platform in Checkmarx One.
Namogoo, an Israeli company that offers a Digital Journey Continuity platform, laid off about 25% of its workforce, or 25 people, mostly in Israel, in November.
Founded in 2014, Namogoo calls itself the world’s first Digital Journey Continuity platform, “shaping the customer journey to fit each and every shopper’s needs while making any distractions disappear.” Namogoo’s platform autonomously adapts to each customer visit in real-time, keeping the journey flowing right on to its destination.
Also in November, Israeli Startup Nation e-commerce firm Yotpo let go of 70 people, or 9% of its workforce.
“Today was one of the most difficult and saddest days we’ve experienced since the company was founded, a day in which we were forced to reduce the company’s workforce by 9% and part ways with 70 employees, 30 of them from Israel, who were amazing partners in our journey,” Yotpo said in a statement about the cuts.
Capitolis, an Israel Startup Nation fintech startup and a unicorn fired 37 people, or about 25% of its employees. Capitolis hit unicorn status in March with a $1.6 billion valuation when the company raised $110 million in a Series D round of investment.
In a statement, Capitolis described the move as a “difficult decision to reduce the size of its workforce,” saying the company mostly eliminated roles that it had hired in anticipation of significant growth that Capitolis says is no longer “realistic in this challenging market environment.”
