Charlotte's financial-technology industry has been hit by layoffs multiple times in the last six months.
Most recently, it was Robinhood Markets Inc., an online trading platform. California-based Robinhood said last week it is laying off 9% of its full-time employees, affecting hundreds of people. A Robinhood spokesperson said there were a "small number of employees" here impacted by the layoffs.
“Robinhood is still very committed to maintaining a presence in Charlotte," the spokesperson said. "While we’re still assessing how the recent reduction in our workforce will affect future hiring plans, Robinhood’s Charlotte office will remain open.”
In early 2021, Robinhood pledged to add 389 new jobs in Charlotte by 2025, as part of an $11.8 million investment. It is eligible for up to $3.7 million in state and local incentives. Charlotte beat out areas including Fort Mill, Denver and St. Louis in landing the new jobs. Average annual wage was estimated at $76,450. At the time, executives touted the city's workforce as an advantage.
Tariq Bokhari, executive director of Carolina Fintech Hub and a City Council member, said Charlotte has spent the last decade preparing its talent pipeline to attract these types of companies. However, there is more work to do.
Fintech is a rocky road as the world evolves to use new models, Bokhari said. Charlotte needs to be positioned to win in this environment.
"Yes, it's a cause for concern but maybe not in the way that some people might be calling for everyone to freak out," Bokhari said. "We're going to be looking at these companies, all tech companies but particularly fintech, which is at the heart of a lot of what's going on right now, and we're going to say, 'All right, how is their strategy evolving, and how are our workforce programs adjusting to meet those needs?'"
He mentioned Carolina Fintech Hub's Workforce Investment Network, which promotes upward mobility but also reskills employees.
Charlotte programs are doing well at the microlevel, Bokhari said, but they need to scale up to thousands of participants.
In March, Better.com announced a second round of layoffs in about three months, cutting more than a third of its employees in the U.S. and India. Charlotte was one of the affected markets. Company executives cited a tough residential real estate market, saying the layoffs were not a reflection on personal performance. Charlotte lost hundreds of jobs in the two rounds of layoffs.
New York-based Better.com, a digital mortgage lender, had pledged in 2019 to hire 1,000 people here over the next five years. Again, it was Charlotte's talent pool, especially in financial services, that attracted the company.
Other mortgage industry-related layoffs have also affected local employees at Movement Mortgage and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC).
Dan Roselli, founder of RevTech Labs, said Charlotte's fintech industry is still strong and on an upward trajectory. Capital growth is still strong, for example. The city maintains its relatively low cost of staffing, low cost of living and high quality of life. He said having Robinhood here remains a net positive for Charlotte.
"Business growth is not a straight line, and that can be painful, obviously, for the people involved, too," Roselli said. "We are now a big enough ecosystem that when (they) are downsizing one corporation, that talent generally as a rule gets snapped up pretty quickly."
The top financial-services jobs in demand were software developers, analysts and testers as of the fourth quarter of 2021, showing continued growth in the fintech sector, according to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance's quarterly growth report. Last month, personal-finance company Credit Karma showed off its new East Coast headquarters in Ballantyne — part of a more than $13 million investment that will add 600 jobs here by 2026.
Fintech employees more than a decade ago would question what to do in Charlotte if a job did not work out, Roselli said. He doesn't hear that as much anymore. In general, companies are still saying they can't find enough talent. Networking is also starting to pick up again after the pandemic, he said.
Roselli said Charlotte could use one community source that matches talent with hiring companies.
