Shopify Inc. headquarters signage in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. Shopify reported its earnings for the latest quarter. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Shopify Inc. says it will reduce its head count by about 20 per cent and sell its logistics business to Flexport, a supply chain management company.
The Ottawa-based e-commerce company positioned the moves as a way to help it focus on its main quest to make commerce easier.
In an open letter, chief executive Tobi Lutke did not quantify how many staff would be departing the company, but before Shopify laid off about 1,000 staff last summer it had roughly 10,000 employees.
Twenty per cent of the remaining workers would amount to about 1,800 people.
Lutke says the company has also decided to sell Shopify Logistics to Flexport to help the business become more ambitious and global in nature.
Under the terms of the agreement, Shopify will receive stock representing a 13 per cent stake in Flexport and the ability to name a director to Flexport’s board.
Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)
