Thoughtworks has emerged as the latest tech company to join the ongoing trend of laying off employees amid the global economic slowdown.
The software consultancy firm laid off about 4% of its global workforce — approximately 500 employees — a figure that the company did not dispute when reached for comment on Wednesday. TechCrunch learned that the company initially informed its affected employees about the decision on Tuesday, and the layoffs will continue in the coming days.
“We confirm that we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by about four percent globally,” Thoughtworks global public relations head Linda Horiuchi said in a statement emailed to TechCrunch. “We did not make this decision lightly and regret that we had to say goodbye to some talented and passionate Thoughtworkers. These changes were necessary to support the future growth of our business.”
Thoughtworks has over 12,500 employees across 18 countries on five continents, including the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company also has a strong presence in India, though the spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the move did not include any layoffs in the country.
Earlier this week, Thoughtworks reported an 8.3% year-over-year surge in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year, totaling more than $310 million. This revenue growth also contributed to the company’s net income of $16.1 million in the fourth quarter, an improvement from its loss of almost $17 million in the same quarter a year ago.
The Chicago-headquartered company also forecast to generate revenue between $303 million and $305 million in the current quarter and anticipated a year-over-year growth in revenue of between 0.5% and 2.5% for the overall year.
On Wednesday, Thoughtworks was trading at $7.34 per share with a market cap of $2.29 billion.
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