14 DAY TRIAL // After parent company Microsoft announced a massive layoff, it’s now GitHub’s turn to join the club of tech firms that are aggressively cutting their employee count.
GitHub will let go no more, no less than 10 percent of its workforce, and given the company had around 3,000 employees, this means some 300 people are going to be let go.
In an internal memo obtained by Fortune, GitHub explains that it will continue to hire in key positions, but at the same time, it will focus on internal restructuring for more efficient operations.
“Although our entire leadership team has carefully deliberated this step and come to agreement, ultimately, as CEO the decision is mine. I recognize this will be difficult on you all, and we will approach this period with the utmost respect for every Hubber,” GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke was quoted as saying.
More big changes for GitHub
The massive layoff isn’t the only big change happening at GitHub. The company is also giving up on all offices, as it moves from a physical office presence to a remote-only approach.
In other words, all employees will work remotely, and GitHub will therefore make the switch to Microsoft Teams to for allowing employees to remain productive and stay in touch with each other. This isn’t necessarily a surprise given GitHub is now owned by Microsoft, though it’s important to remind everybody that the software giant promised GitHub would continue to be an independent company.
In a statement for TechCrunch, a GitHub spokesperson explained that the job cut is necessary to protect the business in the short term.
“We announced a number of difficult but necessary decisions and budgetary realignments to both protect the health of our business in the short term and grant us the capacity to invest in our long-term strategy moving forward. You can view our CEO’s full message to employees with additional details on these changes below,” the spokesperson explained.