Airbnb Inc. ABNB has laid off 30% of its recruiting staff as it slows hiring, a company spokesperson confirmed Monday. That works out to about 27 or 28 people out of the company’s overall workforce of more than 6,800. “We have made the difficult decision to reorganize and reduce the size of our recruiting team to reflect our hiring projections,” the spokesperson said, adding that the move doesn’t mean there will be wider layoffs at the company. The move comes after Chief Executive Brian Chesky said during Airbnb’s earnings call last month that “we’re one of the few tech companies that isn’t doing layoffs” and that the only hiring the company would be doing is for “key positions.” Chief Financial Officer Dave Stephenson said on the call — during which he reported record fourth-quarter revenue, Airbnb’s first profitable year and an outlook that beat expectations — that the company would grow headcount “modestly” this year, in the 2%, 3% or 4% range. The last time Airbnb laid off employees was at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when it cut 1,900 positions, or 25% of its workforce. Bloomberg first reported the news about the recruiter layoffs Friday.
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