Seattle-based freight network startup Convoy has laid off employees for the fourth time in just over a year.
Convoy confirmed the layoffs to the Business Journal on Monday. According to a company spokesperson, the layoffs affect only the customer experience operations team.
"Earlier this year, we staffed this team at levels necessary to ensure a smooth transition to our new dedicated service model and to be prepared for a potential freight market rebound," the spokesperson said in a statement. "With our customer service model transition complete and demonstrating efficiency levels double that of 2022 in many cases, coupled with a delayed rebound in the overall freight market, we are now right-sizing staffing levels accordingly."
Convoy raised $260 million between equity funding and venture debt in April 2022, when the company hit a value of $3.8 billion. The company at the time also secured a $150 million line of credit from J.P. Morgan.
In early June 2022, however, Convoy laid off about 90 employees. It laid off an undisclosed number of employees in October, followed by additional layoffs in February, during which it closed its Atlanta office.
Convoy has more than 840 employees listed on its LinkedIn page.
At the time of the April 2022 raise, Chief Growth Officer Ryan Gavin said the company had roughly 1,300 employees, including more than 800 in Washington.
Convoy was founded in 2015. The company connects shippers to trucking companies, or carriers, with the aim of reducing the number of empty miles truck drivers spend on the road. Carriers, meanwhile, can find and bid on loads through an app. Its clients include Unilever, The Home Depot and Anheuser-Busch.
On Thursday, Convoy co-founder Grant Goodale confirmed to the Business Journal he was leaving his role as chief experience officer and stepping into an adviser role at the end of June. Goodale, who will remain on the company's board, said he wanted to spend more time with family.
"My oldest son is a junior in high school right now, and he'll be a senior in the fall. He is, I realized, about 15 months away from leaving our family and going off and starting his own exciting life someplace," Goodale previously told the Business Journal. "I've spent a fair amount of time prioritizing my third child, Convoy, over a good chunk of his life. I realized this was probably the last chance I'll get, this summer in particular, to really create some memories with him."
