Checkr, a 10-year-old startup that offers employee background checks and was last worth $5 billion in April 2022, laid off 382 employees because companies aren’t hiring a lot of talent.
TechCrunch has exclusively learned that Checkr made layoffs across all departments and at different levels on Tuesday. The San Francisco-based startup confirmed the layoffs in an email.
“In response to economic conditions that have impacted business hiring, we have made the difficult and painful decision to reduce the size of our team. This will allow us to operate more efficiently and ensure the long-term health of our business,” a Checkr spokesperson said in the release.
The job cuts – which affected 32% of the company’s workforce – came nearly two years after Checkr announced the acquisition of Inflection, the startup behind GoodHire, a background check platform for small businesses. and medium-sized businesses. At the time, the Wall Street Journal reported the deal was worth $400 million.
Backed by renowned investors including Durable Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research, Franklin Templeton, BOND and Coatue Management, Checkr enables companies to perform background checks by reviewing criminal and driving records and confirming the basic identity of their potential employees. The startup offers an online form to allow companies to perform these checks or use its API, which can be integrated into their recruiting systems or onboarding software, including Workable and Zenefits.
Founded in 2014, Checkr counts Uber, Instacart, Netflix, Adecco, Airbnb and Coinbase among its major clients. Its customer base has expanded to over tens of thousands of businesses ranging from small and medium-sized businesses to Fortune 500 employers in 2022. Initially, the startup was limited to Silicon Valley, but it has expanded its presence beyond the Valley in 2016.
Checkr provided affected employees with a minimum of 10 weeks of severance pay and health insurance, as well as career and mental health support, the spokesperson said.
The startup did not respond to questions about its fundraising background and plans. To date, it has raised $679 million, with the latest raise of $250 million announced in September 2021.
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