European open banking platform TrueLayer to shed 10% of workforce

European open banking platform TrueLayer is set to cut 10% of its workforce, around 40 employees, due to “challenging market conditions”.

TrueLayer CEO Francesco Simoneschi

The news was broken to TrueLayer employees in a company-wide meeting before being posted on the company’s website in the interests of “transparency to our partners, customers and wider TrueLayer community”.

In the message to employees, CEO and co-founder Francesco Simoneschi says the firm has seen “significant growth” in payment volumes and its client base over the past 12 months. Despite this, the firm is now operating “in a very different context and more challenging market conditions”, Simoneschi adds, and TrueLayer “is not immune to these broader factors”.

“Following a process of debate and looking in detail at the different courses of action, it is with great regret that we’ve decided to reduce our headcount by 10%,” he says.

In a “whole-organisation approach”, Simoneschi says the firm has considered which roles are needed most to ensure TrueLayer’s “path to profitability, monetisation and sustainable growth”.

He adds that those affected “will be invited to a one-to-one meeting with a member of the leadership team so that we can explain the next steps of the process and what we will be doing to support you”.

TrueLayer is the latest fintech to feel the pinch thanks to ongoing market volatility in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In August, Aussie crypto exchange Swyftx laid off 74 employees – 21% of its workforce – while Canadian growth capital firm Clearco cut 125 jobs as it faces up to “significant headwinds” in the economy.

In recent months, stock trading app Robinhood has said it will cut 23% of staff, digital challenger bank Varo laid off 75 employees in order to cut costs and Canadian wealthtech Wealthsimple shed 12.6% of its workforce citing market volatility.