Jobs marketplace Airtasker cuts staffing by 20%, shedding 45 jobs in push to turn cashflow around

ASX-listed jobs marketplace Airtasker is the latest tech company to swing the scythe through its workforce, cutting 45 jobs – around 20% of its overall headcount – as part of a drive to become cashflow positive in the 2024 financial year.

The redundancies are primarily in non-revenue generating functions the company (ASX: ART) said, releasing its Q3 March quarter results at the same time.

And 12 months after the business paid $9.8 million for services platform OneFlare Airtasker is shedding the “non-core” parts of the OneFlare business.

Airtasker expect to incur restructuring charges of up to $1 million in FY23 from the cuts. Shedding the side ventures will see FY24 revenue fall by up to $1m but the company also expects it to have a positive impact on operating expenses and operating cashflow

Founder and CEO Tim Fung said they will focus on efficient global scaling of its core marketplaces under both brands.

“Whilst Airtasker has delivered strong YTD March 2023 revenue growth of 49% we believe that in the current macroeconomic environment it is the right time to focus on greater efficiency and return to positive operating cashflow,” he said.

“We believe this program of cost reduction will enable Airtasker to return to positive operating cashflow for FY24 and drive efficient growth to sustainably achieve our mission – to empower people to realise the full value of their skills – on a global scale.”

The company saw revenue rise by 34.1% on 12 months ago in Q3 to $11.5 million, but most of that gain, 28.8% came from the inclusion of Oneflare. Excluding the Oneflare marketplace contribution, 3Q23 revenue increased 5.3% to $9 million. Airtasker’s Australian marketplace achieved a net EBITDA of $1.5 million, after covering fixed global head office operating costs, through improvements in the efficiency of marketing expenditure.

Oneflare marketplace revenue continues to be ahead of expectations from when the acquisition was announced last May. Net cash used in operating activities for the quarter was $1.2m, a decrease of 52.4% quarter-on-quarter, driven primarily by increased marketing expenditure in new marketplaces in the quarter.

It said that while the Australian marketplaces are at the “scaling” stage, in the UK, their marketplaces are in the “one to 100” stage and the US, at “zero to one”.

Airtasker has $20.6m in cash on its balance sheet and no debt at the end of 3Q23.