The Toronto-based storytelling platform let go about 20 employees from its business and operations teams, said spokesperson Lauren Hopkinson in an email to The Logic, as it reorganized some departments in early January. Job cuts at the company were first reported by The Korea Economic Daily. (The Logic)
Talking point: The workforce reduction marks Wattpad’s second round of cuts since last March, when it slashed 42 jobs. South Korean search-engine company Naver acquired Wattpad for US$600 million in 2021. The new owner had planned to add nearly 100 jobs to the firm’s 215-person workforce at the time with most new roles expected at its Canadian offices, including its second headquarters in Halifax. Hopkinson said the company now has about 200 staff remaining. Wattpad is the latest Canadian tech firm to lay off staff. On Tuesday, Loopio said it was trimming its headcount by six per cent. In the broader global tech industry, more than 43,000 people have lost their jobs across 193 sets of cuts in just the first few weeks of 2024, according to TrueUp’s tech layoff tracker.