As the coronavirus crisis continues to disrupt consumer patterns and the economy, Showpad, a Chicago and Belgium-based sales enablement company, is the latest local tech company to lay off employees.
Showpad confirmed to Chicago Inno that it laid off 52 employees on Monday, 18 of which were based in the Windy City.
The tech company said layoffs affected its Go To Market teams across its offices in Chicago, Belgium, London, Munich, San Francisco, Portland and Poland. About 400 employees remain at the company globally, 160 of which are in the Chicago office.
“This decision was triggered by the economic downturn following the global spread of COVID-19,” said Showpad co-founder and CEO Pieterjan Bouten in a statement to Inno.
Showpad says laid off employees are receiving severance packages and healthcare support for six months via COBRA, a federal program that entitles laid off employees to remain on their employer’s health insurance plan.
Showpad’s software helps companies in a swath of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, technology and financial services, increase the size of their sales deals by improving buyer engagement.
Over the last two years, Bouten said Showpad tripled its revenue and in 2019 alone, hired about 200 new employees. Showpad, which has 1,200 clients, typically sees annual revenue of more than $60 million, Bouten said.
Last year, Showpad raised $70 million in debt and equity in a Series D round, bringing its total funding to more than $180 million. Its investors include Dawn Capital, Insight Partners, Hummingbird Ventures and Korelya Capital. Silicon Valley Bank provided the debt financing.
“Despite recently closing a successful funding round, the unseen and unanticipated impact of the coronavirus forces us to act quickly and responsibly in order to ensure we are here for our customers long into the future,” Bouten said.
Showpad’s Chicago presence began in 2017 when it opened a North American headquarters in the Windy City. But that presence grew when it acquired LearnCore, a Chicago startup that made sales training software, for $50 million in 2018.
Showpad isn't the only local tech company to downsize amid the coronavirus pandemic. In March, SpotHero laid off employees and Remote Year laid off about 50 people, both citing COVID-19’s negative impact on business.
