Many reports have recently pointed out that Flexport will lay off 30% of its employees again after laying off 20% of its employees at the beginning of the year. The company’s founders hope some planning can improve the freight forwarding company’s current financial situation after revenue fell sharply this year. The massive layoffs, which will take place around the end of this month, are the latest in a series of major changes for the company this year.
Flexport is a global technology giant with a valuation of over $8 billion. It is an American multinational company focused on the supply chain and logistics industry. It covers a wide range of aspects, including order management, delivery, trade finance, insurance, freight forwarding and customs clearance services. The layoffs are reportedly expected to take place around the end of this month. Flexport plans to lay off another 30% of its workforce, a move that comes as founder Ryan Petersen makes moves to regain control of the company. A spokesman for the San Francisco-based company said Flexport is taking steps to return the company to profitability. The move is the latest in a series of major changes at the company, and the biggest since Petersen took over as CEO. Before him, the previous CEO resigned due to disagreements over business direction and new business expenditures.
Meanwhile, Flexport has seen a lot of personnel changes over the past few weeks. More than a dozen senior executives have left Flexport, and several new ones have been hired. As early as January this year, Flexport laid off 20% of its employees, or more than 600 employees. At that time, this measure was taken to deal with the decline in global cargo volume and the sharp drop in freight rates. Because the decline in global shipments has a great impact on the entire company’s financial situation, it can be said to have a significant impact on Flexport’s revenue in 2023. Until October this year, news came out that Flexport would lay off employees again. It can be seen that it will have a huge financial impact on this company, and the expectations for the future are not very good. In the past two years, it has also introduced many measures to combat the slowdown in global trade. The results are not very satisfactory. Flexport’s revenue dropped by 70% in the first half of 2023, which is very alarming. It is speculated that the revenue in the second half of the year is not very optimistic. So this also explains why there are two major layoffs in one year.
In addition to Flexport, other competitors’ financial conditions and overall revenue have also been affected by the decline in global trade. Large established competitors such as DSV, Expeditors and Kuehne+Nagel reported a 40% revenue drop in the first half of 2023, and their profits also saw similar declines. To save Flexport, Petersen is also actively working hard to find other external investments to inject fresh blood into the company. Flexport has received $2.3 billion in investment from leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms. Facing the uncertainty of global trade, companies in various industries involved in international trade are seeking new funds or cutting expenditures to cope with this cold winter. There have been many layoffs or thunderstorms this year. Sellers should keep up with real-time reports and adjust their strategies in a timely manner if there are changes to prepare for emergencies.
