Shopify to reduce workforce by 20%, sells logistics business to Flexport for 13% equity

News Summary

  • However, shipping and logistics always goes hand-in-hand with e-commerce, which is why Shopify has been building up that side of its business too.For context, Flexport is a 10-year-old freight and logistics platform that has raised more than $2 billion in funding from big-name investors including Andreessen Horowitz and SoftBank.
  • Shopify itself invested as part of Flexport’s Series E round last February, and a few months later Shopify also acquired logistics startup Deliverr for more than $2 billion.
  • Our main quest demands from us to build the best thing that is now possible, and that has just changed entirely.”This is becoming a familiar narrative, one that we’ll likely see a lot more of going forward.
  • It’s often said that larger companies are more sluggish but this is not because of their size, it’s because of all the side quests and distractions they accumulate along the way.
  • “Sometimes this can be worth it, especially when engaging the side quest creates the conditions by which the main quest can become more successful.
  • The company says that those impacted will receive a minimum of 16 weeks severance pay, plus an additional week for every year served at Shopify.
Shopify revealed today that its laying off 20% of its workforce, impacting more than 2,000 people, and is selling its logistics business to Flexport for roughly 13% in stock.The news comes some 10 [+3790 chars]