Groupon lays off 500 employees
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago-based Groupon laid off 500 employees Monday.
The departments affected include technology and sales.
Groupon chief executive officer Kedar Deshpande shared a notice to all staff on Monday.
"While we have discussed the need to streamline our organization as part of our strategy to transform Groupon into the destination for Local experiences and services, I recognize that saying goodbye to colleagues will hit us all harder than any words on a piece of paper ever can," Deshpande wrote.
Deshpande wrote that Groupon needs to cut costs, improve productivity, and automate some functions. This has involved reducing the North America sales team in a transition toward self-service merchant acquisition capabilities, realigning the company's tech organization toward its business needs, and reducing the company's real estate footprint to reflect a hybrid work model.
The company's Australia Goods business will be closed altogether.