Clubhouse slashes 50% of its workforce; to focus on evolution of product

Clubhouse, an invite-only social audio app, is slashing more than 50% of its employees in a bid to ‘reset’ the company.

“We’re scaling back our organisation by over 50% and saying goodbye to many talented, dedicated teammates in the process,” Co-founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth said in an internal memo, which was shared on the company’s blog.

“We arrived at this conclusion reluctantly, as we have years of runway remaining and do not feel immediate pressure to reduce costs. But we believe that a smaller team will give us focus and speed, and help us launch the next evolution of the product,” it added.

The company is yet to reveal the exact number of its affected employees.

“As the world has opened up post-Covid, it’s become harder for many people to find their friends on Clubhouse and to fit long conversations into their daily lives. To find its place in the world, the product needs to evolve. This requires a period of change,” the memo reads.

Founded in 2020, Clubhouse, a social audio platform, allows users to listen in on discussions about technology, music, fashion, and much more. Many personalities and celebrities, such as MC Hammer, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zukerberg, and Elon Musk, have appeared on the platform.

In April 2021, the company raised $10 million in funding from prominent venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz at a valuation of $4 billion.

The founder said that the affected employees will receive pay and health care through August and get to keep their laptops.

“There is no good way to do this, and this is no consolation, but it’s important to us that we work hard to support the people who are departing and recognise how important their work has been to the history of this company,” the founders said.