Ottawa, Canada – Canadian company Shopify announced on Thursday that it will lay off 20% of its employees and divest its logistics business to focus on its core e-commerce business.
In a memo to its more than 11,000 employees, company founder and president Tobias Lutke said, “We are making significant changes to Shopify today to focus our attention on our mission.” “It’s the right thing to do for Shopify, but it will negatively affect many team members.”
“It’s been a consistent and tough week,” he said. “It’s the right thing for Shopify, but it negatively affects many team members we look up to and love working with.”
Lutke, who launched the platform in 2006, said the company should focus on its core business, e-commerce, noting that the quest to build multi-year supply chains to compete with giants like Amazon or Walmart has become a distraction.
Last year, consumers shifted away from online shopping and reduced unnecessary spending.
Shopify initially cut 10% of its staff in July 2022.
Selling Shopify’s logistics business to San Francisco-based Flexport will free the company from “splitting” its focus across multiple businesses.
Shopify shares soared on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the announcement (AFP)
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