American digital bank Chime has reportedly decided to slash its 1,300-strong workforce by 12% amid uncertainties in the financial sector.
TechCrunch, quoting Chime co-founder Chris Britt’s statement in an internal memo, said he along with co-founder Ryan King are working on “re-calibrating marketing spend, decreasing the number of contractors, adjusting workspace needs and renegotiating vendor contractors”.
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Britt termed the move to cut over 160 jobs will enable the firm to “thrive regardless of market conditions”.
“The changes will help, but we also need to adjust the size of our organisation as we increase our focus and forge our path to profitability,” he noted.
TechCrunch quoted a Chime spokesperson as saying: “As we look at current market dynamics, we are adjusting our organisation to be fully aligned with our company priorities.
“As a result, we are eliminating some positions, while still hiring to select others.”
However, details regarding impact on C-level executives, salaries and the firm’s profitability were not disclosed.
Chime, founded in 2012, is the latest addition to the list of fintechs that are exploring options to cut costs following soaring inflation. Fintech firms such as Swedish payments firm Klarna and buy-now-pay-later firm Affirm Holdings are also treading similar path.
In August last year, Chime was valued at $25bn in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital Global Equities.
Earlier this year, Chime Financial reportedly selected Goldman Sachs Group to assist it with its initial public offering (IPO).
It was said that the digital banking provider could seek a valuation of nearly $40bn through the IPO in New York.
