Airbnb ($AIRBNB), the lodging app turned unicorn founded in 2008, has finally sustained an injury that will see 25% of the company being laid off. CEO Brian Chesky announced today that almost 1,900 employees will lose their jobs, in a post to the Airbnb website.
“We are collectively living through the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime, and as it began to unfold, global travel came to a standstill. Airbnb’s business has been hit hard, with revenue this year forecasted to be less than half of what we earned in 2019. Travel in this new world will look different, and we need to evolve Airbnb accordingly. To those leaving Airbnb, I am truly sorry. Please know this is not your fault," said Chesky.
The next two weeks for anyone laid off will still include paychecks, bonuses for years worked, and an additional year of healthcare. Besides blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for the stoppage in travel worldwide, there's also the worry about what happens next. In the aftermath of this news, we can look at Airbnb's data to see where things go from here.
A year ago there were over 500 job openings at Airbnb, and now there are twelve. The next few months for Airbnb will see the unfortunate departure of thousands, and job postings slow to a crawl. The IPO that was to happen this year, much like the rest of the world's events, has been put on ice for now.
It's incredibly rare to find a brand on Instagram with a declining follower count, even rarer for a well-known and popular app people use. The problem is that, well, you can't really use Airbnb right now, so we'll see if this is a momentary lapse in follows or the start of a real snowball on social media.
This is a snapshot of what Airbnb's ratings count and average reviews were, since there most likely will not be many more reviews coming in over the summer until provisions are lifted and quarantine has ended. On the Google Play Store, Airbnb was on track to crack a million reviews submitted soon, but the company will have to take solace in knowing they still sit at a 4.7/5 when people start booking travel again.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.