MONTREAL — Clearco is ending the bulk of its operations in markets outside of North America, cutting all staff in Ireland, the U.K. and Australia as it hands off its business in those countries to U.K.-based Outfund. The move comes one month after it laid off about 25 per cent of its workforce.

Under the strategic partnership, announced internally Tuesday, the Toronto-based merchant financing startup will receive a commission for referring its international clients to Outfund, another startup that provides capital to e-commerce businesses. A person familiar with the cuts, whom The Logic is not naming because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly, said they affected about 60 employees, or roughly 16 per cent of Clearco’s staff. Clearco and Outfund did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“This was not a decision we made lightly, but one that became abundantly necessary when evaluating the current market,” Clearco co-founders Michele Romanow and Andrew D’Souza said in a note to staff.

In a press release following the internal announcement, Clearco said it now intends to focus on the U.S. and Canada.

Clearco has contended this year with slower e-commerce growth and rising interest rates that have significantly hindered its expansion plans. In recent months, it has sought to renegotiate its agreements with lenders and has taken other steps to reduce burn, including cutting its office space in downtown Toronto. As The Logic first reported, it also raised a US$60-million funding round earlier this year.

It was one of many Canadian tech companies, including Wealthsimple and Shopify, to pursue layoffs in light of a downturn that has led startups to be more cautious about spending.

Clearco announced an aggressive international expansion last year on the heels of two large fundraisings, one led by U.S.-based Oak HC/FT and one by SoftBank, the global tech investor known for backing the likes of WeWork and Uber. In March, Clearco committed to providing €100 million in funding to Irish businesses, and in May said it would invest up to €500 million in Germany.

“As we shift our focus to our Canadian and U.S. business for the time being, finding a partner for our international clients that shares our mission to democratize funding for founders has been our focus,” Romanow said in a statement. “It is of course with great regret that we have had to let our international team go as part of this partnership.”

The partnership does not include any of Clearco’s staff, technology, intellectual property, infrastructure or operations, the company said in a release. 

Clearco said it is helping laid-off workers find jobs in addition to offering them severance and a two-year window to exercise options.

“We have opened our partner networks to have expedited interviews for the team that will take place ASAP,” Romanow and D’Souza’s email to staff said. “We’re very encouraged by these interviews and optimistic we’ll be able to assist in ensuring they have an opportunity to land a new position quickly with our partner. We will also be opening up our full networks to help secure jobs outside of any partner network.”