Editor's Note: This story is part of our Year in Review Series where we spotlight our top articles and features of 2022.
More than 1,000 startups and large technology companies laid off employees this year, with many citing an uncertain economic environment as a reason to downsize. The job cuts affected about 91,000 U.S. tech workers, according to one estimate from Crunchbase, a company that provides data about public and private ventures.
Several South Florida companies were impacted as well.
As the new year approaches, we're taking a look back at the local ventures that reduced their teams during a turbulent year. Here are the companies in no particular order.
Miami cybersecurity firm Appgate cut 130 employees, or 22% of its total staff in late July, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. At the time, the company reported the layoffs were expected to result in $1.7 million in severance and other termination-related costs. The staff reduction occured a year after Appgate completed its $1 billion merger with Newtown Lane Marketing to become a publicly traded company. The firm, a spinoff of Miami-based Cyxtera Technologies, became a standalone venture in 2020.
Papa, a platform that matches older adults with young companions called "Papa Pals," laid off 15% of its workforce in July, CEO Andrew Parker said in a LinkedIn post. Founded in 2017, the "family-on-demand" platform reached a $1.4 billion valuation last November after raising $150 million in an investment round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The business is backed by $241 million in investment capital dollars.
Boca Raton-based SpringBig cut 23% of its staff earlier this month in a move to lower expenses and become a profitable company. The marketing platform for cannabis businesses went public in 2021 after merging with blank check firm Tuatara Acquisition Corporation.
Convey Health Solutions, a health technology company, laid off 88 workers after announcing it would wind down operations at Pompano Beach Business Park. Founded in 2003, Convey Health provides software, data analytics, and other tech platforms for health insurance companies and pharmacies related to government-sponsored health care plans such as Medicare.
Autonomous vehicle startup Argo AI let go of 79 Miami employees after announcing the company will shut down and be absorbed by investors Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen. In 2021, Argo AI entered a partnership with ride-hailing company Lyft to purportedly bring driverless cars to local customers
Miami-based Reef Technology cut 5% of its global workforce, or 750 employees, in March to focus on profitability. Founded in 2013 as ParkJockey, the company provides hardware, software and management services to turn its network of parking lots into neighborhood delivery hubs for local businesses.
Financial technology startup Nirvana Money laid off its entire team after shutting down less than a month after its official launch.The Miami firm is closing all existing accounts, returning customer funds and shutting down by the end of the year. It had at least a dozen employees in the area.
Women's health care venture TherapeuticsMD will terminate its entire team of 212 employees by the end of the year, according to a recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice. That includes 79 workers based at its headquarters in Boca Raton, as well as the company's global team. The layoffs come after the cancellation of the pharmaceutical company's planned merger with Athene Merger, an affiliate of private equity firm EW Healthcare Partners.
PicsArt, a photo and video editing startup, let go of 90 employees in May, according to tech industry layoff tracker layoffs.fyi. That consisted of 8% of its global workforce. PicsArt is backed by $130 million investor capital, with SoftBank and Sequoia Capital among its supporters. The company moved its headquarters from California to Miami Beach in February.
For more stories like this one, sign up for Miami Inno newsletters from the South Florida Business Journal and the American Inno network.
