Venture capital firm Sequoia has reportedly laid off seven staffers from its operations team. The job cut affected one-third of the company’s staff which helps in recruitments for startups in its portfolio, Forbes quoted its chief operating officer Sumaiya Balbale. The layoffs follow the exit of veteran Jamie Bott who had led the company’s talent team.
According to report, the layoffs highlighted retrenching by the venture capitalists following the industry’s bull run ending early 2022. The company is not alone in downsizing staff.
Earlier this year, another firm Y Combinator let go its 17 employees as it shut its late-stage startup fund. The VC-backed startups are now trimming workforce to sustain their businesses due to funds drying up.
Sequoia’s COO told the website that the talent needs of the company had tripled in the peak years of 2021 and 2022, and it doubled the workforce. But after the startup hiring froze, a correction was inevitable. Balbale added that there was a pause and the number of inbound requests and hiring needs declined.
He described the job cuts as part of a ‘broader’ restructuring of the firm to move away from only offering support on a one-to-one level to something deliverable to more founders. According to Balbale, the company took an agency-based approach to scale up its talent-focused employee count to meet the needs of founders.
According to report, Sequoia is witnessing a turbulent change following Roelof Botha taking over the reins of the company. It decreased management fees for the limited partners on its new investment vehicles. In March this year, Sequoia gave its limited partners the opportunity to withdraw money early from its evergreen fund. Last month, Sequoia India and China units split to become separate companies amid geopolitical pressure.
According to The Information, five partners including Moritz and crypto investors exited the firm in recent months. However, Balbale when asked if the company was planning more team-based cuts, replied there was nothing planned.