Seattle-based freight network startup Convoy has laid off about 7% of its workforce, roughly 90 employees, the company confirmed to the Business Journal Friday.
The move comes less than two months after Convoy raised $260 million, including $160 million in Series E equity funding and $100 million in venture debt, in late April and reached a value of $3.8 billion. At the time of the raise, Convoy Chief Growth Officer Ryan Gavin said the company had about 1,300 employees.
"We have made a number of organizational and other operating expense-related changes to ensure we are in the strongest financial position possible ahead of the potential for worsening economic conditions," a Convoy spokesperson wrote in a statement to the Business Journal. "We look forward to continuing to improve the freight industry for the betterment of truck drivers, shippers, the economy, and our environment, whatever market conditions we encounter along the way. We will be opening up our networks to support departing staff in their efforts to secure new roles."
At the time of the raise in April, Convoy also announced it had secured a $150 million line of credit.
Multiple Seattle-area companies have faced layoffs recently. In April, Seattle-based Rad Power Bikes laid off about 100 workers due to closing its mobile services arm. Seattle-based Zillow, meanwhile, announced in November it is shutting down Zillow Offers and laying off about 25% of its workforce. Bellevue-based BitTitan laid off 70 workers in its headquarters city starting in January.
Convoy, founded in 2015, connects shippers with its network of trucking companies, called carriers. Carriers, meanwhile, can find and bid on loads through an app, with the goal of reducing the number of empty miles truckers spend on the road. Convoy's shippers include major brands like Unilever and The Home Depot.
The company has made a string of key hires over the past year. Former Cars.com chief financial officer Sonia Jain joined the company as CFO in April. Former Paymentus general counsel John Morrow took over the general counsel role at Convoy in November, replacing Diankha Linear, who left the company in May 2021 for a California startup. In June of last year, Dorothy Li took the chief technology officer role after co-founder and previous CTO Grant Goodale moved over to manage the company's carrier marketplace.
At the time of the fundraise in April, Gavin said Convoy was closer to a potential initial public offering.
"It's fair to say we're getting into that window. I'm obviously not going to predict a time or anything like that, but we are certainly getting into that window where that next milestone is certainly within the realm of consideration," Gavin said at the time. "It's one of the things that makes it exciting for existing Convoy employees plus new prospective folks who are coming and joining the company. It's kind of a magical window when a company is nearing that moment. Not a lot of people can say they've helped take a company public."
