Cloud communication service Bird has minimize 120 jobs — roughly one-third of its whole workforce. The Amsterdam-based agency — previously generally known as MessageBird — plans to realign its international operations amid the continuing AI increase, TechCrunch has completely discovered. Chook has since confirmed the information. The Dutch startup contacted impacted staff on Friday.
The transfer comes only a 12 months after Chook cut 90 employees following its rebrand. The corporate additionally slashed costs on the time in an effort to tackle the likes of Twilio, Klaviyo, and Attentive. The startup provides a CRM (buyer relationship administration) platform for advertising, gross sales, and funds by way of electronic mail, SMS, and WhatsApp.
Chook founder and CEO Robert Vis confirmed the variety of staff impacted, including that a lot of the roles have been in Europe.
“Whereas Chook was based in Amsterdam and constructed robust European roots, our buyer footprint has grown considerably within the Americas and Asia. This realignment will place our groups nearer to our prospects, enabling us to raised serve them of their native time zones and cultural contexts,” Vis stated in an announcement emailed to TechCrunch.
The startup counts Meta, PayPal, Sq., and Uber as its key prospects. It provides a unified resolution to let companies talk with their prospects by way of completely different channels, together with electronic mail, SMS, voice, and WhatsApp.
Vis asserted the layoffs have been “not a cost-reduction train” because the startup’s “financials stay robust.” As a substitute, AI adoption has contributed to the discount of roles. The listing of equally impacted firms contains Sprinklr, Workday, and Okta.
“The adjustments will assist us return to the agile, targeted mannequin that drove our early success — beginning with SMS and increasing to develop into one of many world’s largest suppliers of enterprise communications options,” Vis stated.
The chief said that the affected staff would obtain “complete transition help” with out sharing specifics on the severance.
In 2021, Chook raised $800 million in a Collection C extension that includes Tiger International, Eurazeo, and Owl Rock. That adopted a $240 million spherical that valued the startup at $3 billion. The startup acquired electronic mail advertising platform SparkPost in 2021 for $600 million.