Twilio lays off 5% of employees in unit activists want to divest
The company has been targeted by two short sellers who are pushing for at least the divestiture of Twilio's Data & Applications business.
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Jeff Lawson, chief executive officer of Twilio Inc., during the Singapore FinTech Festival in Singapore, on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
Lionel Ng | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Software provider Twilio said Monday it would lay off roughly 5% of its workforce, or around 400 employees, citing underachievement in the growth of a unit that activist investors have targeted.
Shares of Twilio were flat on the news.
According to a letter from CEO Jeff Lawson attached to a regulatory filing, the cuts are part of a broader plan to streamline Twilio's offerings. The company is also sunsetting its Programmable Video product as part of the plan.
The cuts will strike deepest in Twilio's Data & Applications unit, the same unit that activist investors at Legion Partners and Anson Funds are pushing Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson to divest. Legion Partners declined to comment.
"Last year, we made the decision to invest, ahead of growth, in go-to-market for Segment," Lawson said in a letter to staff, referring to a Twilio offering that is part of its data & applications group. "Unfortunately, that bet hasn't led to the growth outcome we'd hoped for."
Twilio cut 17% of its workforce, or about 15% of its employees, in February.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
