Ajit Karn
Bloomberg reported this week that home rental company Airbnb laid off 30 percent of its recruiting staff. The layoffs affected 0.4% of the company’s 6,800-person workforce. Over the past three years, the company has become streamlined and more focused, according to a spokesperson. The company anticipates an increase in headcount this year.
Airbnb added that this is not indicative of a broader scale of cutbacks. In contrast to the 11% growth witnessed in 2018, the company anticipates a range of between 2% and 4% staff growth in 2023. Airbnb also intends to increase its total workforce this year.
Airbnb has been one of the few IT companies to avoid significant layoffs, despite the fact that many of its competitors have lowered their growth projections due to increased borrowing rates and a general industry decline. As the demand for travel increased as a result of the pandemic, the travel industry remained resilient for the most part.
Also read: US couple sues snorkelling company in Hawaii for $5 million
The company reported its first annual profit last month, with revenue soaring in the final three months of 2022 due to a rebound in travel bookings. The home-rental platform reported a profit of $319 million on nearly $2 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2017.
The San Francisco-based company reported a net income of $1.9 billion at the end of 2022, compared to a deficit of $352 million the previous year.
During the pandemic, Airbnb laid off approximately 1,900 employees, or 25% of its workforce. The decision was made when the rental giant’s operations virtually ceased due to the Covid-19’s global constraints. The company’s CEO, Brian Chesky, stated in a blog post at the time that “global travel ground to a halt” as the Covid-19-induced crisis unfolded.
