Hootsuite has slashed its workforce by ~30%, according to TechCrunch. The social media marketing firm has about 1,400 employees according to a Globe and Mail report from June which would indicate that nearly 400 workers have been cut.

The company is focusing on strategies to “drive efficiency, growth and financial sustainability”, the company’s CEO Tom Keiser told TechCrunch in a statement. 

Also Read: Snapchat setting stage to lay off employees

The surprising layoffs come in the wake of the company’s logo rebranding and its brand new mascot Owly. Back in 2014, the company was rumoured to have been worth nearly $1 billion. But 2019 data from Pitchbook shows that the company was likely to be valued at ~$750 million. That was also the year that Hootsuit laid off 10% of its workers.

According to Pitchbook, the social media marketing company has managed to raise $300 million in funding from various backers including Accel, the Palo Alto-based venture capital firm and Fidelity Ventures. 

Also Read: Life after Roe v Wade: Meta hands over teen’s abortion data in Nebraska

Hootsuit is the latest Silicon Valley company to bring its employees to the proverbial chopping block. Most tech companies have been clamping down on their expenses as consumer behaviour has changed in the face of the receding COVID-19 pandemic. Companies like Meta, Amazon, Shopify and Google are either implementing hiring freezes or terminating employment with dozens of workers. 

Tesla for example, has decided to cut 10% of its salaried employees by the end of the year. Amazon cut 100,000 of its employees. Shopify terminated 1,000 workers. 

By a Crunchbase estimate, 22,000 employees in the tech industry have already been axed, with more likely in the coming months, after all, there are still 6 months left this in this year. 

Also Read: A step towards 1984: UK planning facial scans to surveil convicted migrants

Venture capital firms have adopted a different mindset as well as they provide reduced valuations and less funding. Which overall might turn into a good thing down the line.