Kickstarter could reduce its workforce by up to 45%: Report

With the number of live projects going down due to the Covid-19, Kickstarter is looking to reduce workforce to sustain.

Kickstarter plans lay offs amid Covid-19 (Kickstarter (screenshot))

Kickstarter is also one of the companies hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. With number of crowdsourcing projects slipping, the company is now looking to lay off up to 45% of workforce.

David Gallagher, Kickstarter's senior communications officer told Gizmodo that the number of live projects had dropped by 35% compared with the last year. "Fees on funded projects are our only source of income. Our margins were already thin before the crisis, and we don't know when this situation will turn around," Gallagher added.

According to Gizmodo, plans to reduce the workforce were first revealed by the OPEIC, a union which Kickstarter employees had become part of in February. The union said that members "voted tonight to ratify a lay-off agreement with the crowdfunding company after CEO Aziz Hasan announced sweeping layoffs of up to 45 per cent of employees."

Gallagher, however, said that the "45% layoff" may not show the complete picture as it doesn't consider the voluntary buyouts.

"When we know which employees are interested in leaving voluntarily, we will be able to look at those roles and the company's strategic needs, and better understand the scale of any layoffs that may be required," he explained.

"We all wish we could have avoided this situation, but the outcome of these negotiations is better because of the open and collaborative process we undertook with the union," Gallagher wrote. "We will have to say goodbye to colleagues and that is never easy. But we believe this agreement offers security to those we are letting go, and ensures Kickstarter can weather this crisis and serve its mission."