Reddit Lays Off 5 Percent of Its Workforce, Will Reduce Planned Hiring for 2023

Reddit said on Tuesday it is laying off about 5 percent of its workforce, or 90 employees, joining a list of technology companies that have been cutting jobs across corporate America.

Tech companies including Meta Platforms have been slashing jobs after aggressively hiring during the pandemic, as the industry braces for an economic downturn.

Meta, the owner of Facebook, slashed jobs across its business and operations units last month, as it carried out its last batch of a three-part layoff round, first announced in March to eliminate 10,000 roles.

Reddit, which was spun off from magazine conglomerate Conde Nast in 2011, saw a recent surge in appeal due to the popularity of WallStreetBets and other forums on its platform that have become a venue for retail investors to speculate on stocks.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Reddit's move on Tuesday, citing an email sent to employees from Chief Executive Steve Huffman.

Huffman said the company would also reduce its hiring for the rest of the year to about 100 people from an early plan of 300, according to the WSJ report.

In December 2021, Reddit had confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the US securities regulator after the company's message boards became the go-to destination for day traders during a meme stock frenzy.

The company was looking at a valuation of more than $15 billion (roughly Rs. 1,14,380 crore), Reuters had reported in September 2021.

Earlier that year, the company was valued at $10 billion (roughly Rs. 76,260 crore) in a private fundraising round.

Reddit was also reportedly tapping Wall Street banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group for its initial public offering.

Reddit, which was founded in 2005 by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, has more than 50 million daily active users and over 100,000 communities.

© Thomson Reuters 2023