After promising nearly 400 new jobs, Robinhood layoffs hit Charlotte. Here’s what to know.
Stock trading app Robinhood on Friday confirmed company-wide job cuts affected its Charlotte office, which the fintech company opened last year.
The firm announced Tuesday it would lay off about 9% of its nearly 3,800 employees, amounting to about 340 workers.
In a company blog post, co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev said the company hired too many people during the pandemic. From 2020 through 2021, the company increased its number of employees by almost six times, Tenev said.
There were a “small number” of local employees affected by the announcement, a company spokesperson told The Charlotte Observer on Friday. The company didn’t say how many jobs were cut locally and declined to provide its Charlotte headcount.
At the time of its expansion announcement in March 2021, Robinhood planned to employ at least 150 workers in the area by the end of the year. The company declined to say Friday if it had met that goal.
But the firm is keeping its office here, the spokesperson said.
“Robinhood is still very committed to maintaining a presence in Charlotte,” the spokesperson said.
Future hiring plans
Robinhood’s Charlotte presence has its roots in a March 2021 announcement it was opening an office here, becoming one of the most-high profile financial technology companies to move to the region.
Charlotte beat out cities such as Denver, Colo. and Fort Mill, S.C., for the expansion.
LOOK BACK: Startup stock trading app Robinhood will expand in NC, bringing hundreds of new jobs
The company said it would invest $11.7 million in a new customer support and account operations center. It promised to bring nearly 400 new jobs to the area that included analyst, customer service and operations roles.
Now, those plans seem to be up in the air.
Robinhood is “still assessing how the recent reduction in our workforce will affect future hiring plans,” it said in its statement.
The firm was set to receive up to $3.7 million in state and city incentives for the expansion. Those tax incentives are typically tied to the completion of job creation targets.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 12:56 PM.
