Sources have confirmed that Portuguese unicorn Feedzai has cut its workforce as the company begins restructuring in the face of challenging economic conditions.
Exact numbers of the headcount reduction at the AI-based, financial crime detection platform aren’t clear, but according to Finextra’s sources, teams in several countries have been affected.
Feedzai has yet to respond to request for comment.
Layoffs were made via brief calls from HR between January the 9th and January 13th, with those affected told that the company’s restructuring plans no longer require their roles to be filled. Access to Feedzai systems was immediately cut off for the terminated employees.
The cuts come despite Feedzai CEO Nuno Sebastiao telling a company-wide “all-hands-on-deck” meeting just a month ago that the firm’s performance was strong and that employees need not be worried about their roles, says a source.
Feedzai’s last fundraise was in March 2021, with the $200 million series D round valuing the company at over $1 billion. The funding was led by one of KKR’s growth equity funds, with participation from existing investors Sapphire Ventures and Citi Ventures.
In early 2022, Feedzai announced it had achieved +40% year-on-year growth in exit annual recurring revenue (ARR) and had also grown its headcount at over 40%, to 600 employees across 18 countries.
The company has recently been rolling out employee-friendly policies: in October it began offering mental health, menstruation and menopause leave, building on a 2021 decision to move to a four-day week.
Feedzai’s restructuring is far from unique. Tech firms across the globe are experiencing severe pressure from investors, who are now tightening their purse strings and insisting on strong demonstrations of viability, resulting in widespread layoffs and cost cutting measures.