Bending Spoons, an Italy-based app company known for owning Evernote and Meetup, plans to lay off 75% of the staff at file transfer service WeTransfer following its acquisition in July, according to reports from TechCrunch.
The company, which has not disclosed the acquisition cost, confirmed the layoff plans, citing that employees will be informed after local regulations on layoffs are met. WeTransfer currently employs over 350 people.
Bending Spoons’ Strategy for Acquired Companies
Bending Spoons’ CEO Luca Ferrari explained that after acquiring a company, the organization is studied to determine the best business vision moving forward, with an aim to operate it for the long term. He noted that this often involves making significant changes to different areas, including staff cuts. In WeTransfer’s case, the company seeks to have a smaller, more focused team to drive future success.
WeTransfer has recently introduced a new feature allowing users to extend the expiration date of shared links, though no further details about long-term product plans have been disclosed. The layoffs align with Bending Spoons’ previous practices, where the company has reduced staff counts in its acquisitions. Earlier this year, Bending Spoons made significant cuts at Evernote and Meetup, and in late 2023, it let go of the entire workforce at Filmic, a photo and video editing app it had previously acquired.
In February 2023, Bending Spoons raised $155 million in equity financing from investors, including Durable Capital Partners, Baillie Gifford, Cox Enterprises, NB Renaissance, NUO Capital, and StarTIP.
