Atlanta-based OneTrust is cutting about one-quarter of its workforce, jettisoning 950 jobs worldwide, the company announced this week.
OneTrust, a software company specializing in privacy that had been an Atlanta tech high-flyer, was forced into slashing jobs by the recent changes in capital markets that have moved money away from rapidly growing companies, according to a written statement published Thursday by Kabir Barday, the company’s chief executive officer.
Favor has shifted from growth to companies that are already profitable, he said.
“It is one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make as a leader,” Barday said. “Unfortunately, reducing our headcount and adapting to the capital markets sentiment is what is needed to keep us in our leadership position.”
The layoffs come at a paradoxical economic moment when fears of recession are rampant, yet the economy shows few signs of an impending decline.
Unemployment in Georgia is at a historic low, while thriving companies struggle to find workers for thousands of unfilled jobs, according to Mark Butler, the state’s labor commissioner.
Yet there is also an unexpectedly high inflation rate and a campaign by the Federal Reserve to tame it by raising interest rates.
OneTrust is not publicly traded, and has primarily raised money through venture investment. In the spring of 2021, the company raised $210 million, according to VentureBeat.com, which tracks venture markets. The company’s most recent round of financing was $6.4 million, raised in October, according to Yahoo Finance.
The announcement did not include details on the number of jobs to be cut in metro Atlanta or the kinds of positions that are being eliminated. A company spokeswoman did not respond to email and phone messages from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
And while the statement alluded to the changing tastes in capital markets, the company did not provide information about any direct ways in which day-to-day operations might be affected. In a message Friday to employees, CEO Barday acknowledged that the layoffs seem to contradict his recent communications about the firm’s business performance.
“I know this news is surprising, especially as you heard last month that the business is on track with record quarters and increasing customer demand,” he wrote. “There is no sugar-coating it, this reorganization is painful for all of us.”
Laid-off workers will receive severance packages and extended medical coverage, Barday said.