Bumble, the makers of the Bumble Dating App and Bumble For Friends, announced Wednesday that the company will be laying off 30 percent of its workforce, or roughly 240 employees. This comes as dating app companies struggle to perform in recent years. Bumble was once a company worth almost $8 billion, but finds itself worth about 90 percent less today.
Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd had briefly stepped down as CEO in early 2024 before returning as CEO this year. The company has posted declining revenues this year as it struggles to attract and maintain paying members. In a statement to CNBC, a Bumble spokesperson said, “Our focus now is on moving forward in a way that strengthens our core business, continues to serve our members effectively, and positions us for future growth.”
Bumble added new safety and verification tools back in March that allow users to upload an image of their government-issued ID and receive a verification badge on their profiles. Users searching through profiles could then filter their search to show only verified users. Trust and safety issues are of paramount concern on dating apps where you meet up with strangers. New features like Share Date on Bumble and double dating on Tinder aim to ease the anxiety of what are normally solo meetups.
The securities filing for the layoffs said that employees were notified today but did not include any details on whether the affected employees were mostly in Bumble’s Austin, TX, headquarters or global in scope. The company has also not shared which teams have been affected.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/bumble-is-laying-off-30-percent-of-its-workforce-165350687.html?src=rss
