Shopify Will Cut 10% of Its Staff, With Most Workers Gone by Day’s End

Canadian e-commerce firm Shopify Inc. will cut about 10% of its workforce today, as Chief Executive Officer Tobi Lutke acknowledged its decision to expand rapidly coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t pay off.

Canadian e-commerce firm Shopify Inc. will cut about 10% of its workforce. (Bloomberg)

Canadian e-commerce firm Shopify Inc. will cut about 10% of its workforce today, as Chief Executive Officer Tobi Lutke acknowledged its decision to expand rapidly coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic didn't pay off.

Most of the affected roles are in recruiting, support and sales, Lutke said in a memo posted on Shopify's website.

“We bet that the channel mix -- the share of dollars that travel through e-commerce rather than physical retail -- would permanently leap ahead by five or even 10 years” because of the pandemic, Lutke wrote.

“It's now clear that bet didn't pay off. What we see now is the mix reverting to roughly where pre-Covid data would have suggested it should be at this point.”

About 1,000 workers will be affected, according to the Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report the memo. Shopify shares have fallen 73% this year in New York.