BigCommerce to Restructure Business and Lay Off 13% of Workforce 

BigCommerce Holdings has begun to restructure its business and lay off 13% of its workforce.

The open software-as-a-service (SaaS) eCommerce platform said in a Thursday (Dec. 15) press release that it will focus its go-to-market efforts on the enterprise business, reduce its expenditures on sales and marketing in non-enterprise initiatives and cut its total workforce, including employees and contractors, by 13%. It will also evaluate its facilities footprint.

“This focusing of our spending and resources, which impacts all of our teammates, was an incredibly difficult decision to make,” BigCommerce CEO Brent Bellm said in the release. “We are implementing changes that will enhance the strength of our financial profile against the backdrop of a challenging economic environment. It will also drive focus on the areas we view as having the strongest product market advantage and best long-term financial performance.”

The changes aim to accelerate its breakeven timeline from mid to late 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the press release.

BigCommerce will focus its investments and resources on growing its already strong position in enterprise eCommerce, a sector in which the company supplies a full-featured B2C and B2B offering, the release said.

This is also a sector in which BigCommerce sees the strongest unit economics and the greatest opportunity for growth, per the release.

BigCommerce expects to complete the workforce reduction by Dec. 31 and estimates the associated costs to be $4.2 billion to $4.6 million, consisting of severance payments, employee benefits and related costs, according to the press release.

“We are sadly parting ways with some incredibly talented people whom we have grown to cherish as friends and colleagues over the years,” Bellm said in the release. “We will do our best to support them through the transition to find their next opportunities.”

The moves by BigCommerce follow layoffs and other cost-cutting measures taken by many tech firms.

For example, Amazon is making job cuts that will continue into next year. The firm’s Devices and Books businesses and others have been impacted, but the total number of cuts has not yet been determined.

In addition, Meta will lay off more than 11,000 employees, which amounts to 13% of its workforce. Reductions will be made in every organization within Meta.