Learning navigation platform Career Karma has laid off 60 people across its teams in the United States and around the world, CEO and co-founder Ruben Harris confirmed to TechCrunch. Although he did not share the total percentage of those affected, sources say a third of staff have been made redundant.
Suite C was not affected by the downsizing, Harris said. The startup, founded in 2018 by Harris, Artur Meyster and Timur Meyster, connects students to learning bootcamps and educational programs that align with their career and development goals. The startup’s end goal is to bring more people into tech jobs, a world we all know is currently under significant strain.
According to sources, the layoff took place earlier this week and had a big impact on members of the marketing and recruiting team. Harris confirmed that Career Karma now has over 3 years of track to continue operating, without the need for a funding round, after the layoff.
“What’s different about this recovery is that it will be longer,” Harris and his co-founders wrote to the board in an email to the company and its investors. “While the timing of our Series B fundraising has prepared us for this moment, we should assume that this recovery will take 3-4 years and stretch that money as long as possible.”
Earlier this year, Career Karma raised a $40 million Series B round, led by Top Tier Capital, at an undisclosed valuation. The startup has been up and running since 2018 and has received checks from Y Combinator, Kapor Capital, Backstage, Emerson Collective, SoftBank, and GV, formerly known as Google Ventures.
Career Karma’s latest audit came as the platform sought to evolve from a navigational tool for those wanting to join a bootcamp, to an advantage for employers that helps workers and entrepreneurs find training programs professional tailored to their needs. The shift from targeting consumers to employers meant that Career Karma served a more sticky end customer, a customer who would hire large swaths of employees versus single customers, one at a time.
While this makes sense from a business model perspective and sense of impact, startups also face shrinking budgets and need to expand the runway. This means learning and development tools may be removed from the employee benefits suite, impacting Career Karma’s ability to attract new customers.
“We are focused on market profitability and growing our business,” Harris wrote in an email to TechCrunch. The company considered three factors when choosing who to terminate: their financial impact to the business, their importance to the operational infrastructure, and whether the skills are aligned with the company’s strategy.
Harris added that affected employees would receive a cash severance package, three months of funded health, dental and vision care and career navigation services.
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