Dennis Woodside, CEO of Nasdaq-listed Freshworks, announced on November 7 that the company will be trim down its workforce by 13 percent, which will see around 660 employees being laid off. The move is part of the SaaS firm's strategic priorities focused on improving efficiencies and reducing complexities across teams.
"There’s simply no good time to make a decision like this that affects people’s lives and it’s my responsibility to be transparent about how and why this decision was made... When I became the CEO five months ago, I was asked to assess our strategy and ensure we’re focused on the most critical drivers of our business," Woodside wrote in a letter to the firm's employees on November 7.
"To add more focus on our EX (employee experience), AI (artificial intelligence) and CX (customer experience) priorities, we are realigning our global workforce, putting us on a path to have a bigger impact for our customers. We're making these changes while our business is profitable and our AI-powered products are providing increasing customer value," he said.
The firm has more than 5,000 employees on rolls and has conducted multiple rounds of layoffs and management rejig since 2024.
In September of 2022, Freshworks announced the appointment of Dennis Woodside as its new President responsible for leading its global business operations and strategy.
Previously, Woodside served as the chief operating officer of Dropbox, helping grow revenue from $250 million to $1.3 billion and ultimately raising over $1 billion in a successful IPO in 2018.
While speaking to Moneycontrol last June, Woodside had said that one of his top priorities is to safeguard and nurture the unique culture that defines Freshworks.
Woodside reiterated that his key priorities will be to invest in people and areas where it can accelerate its product roadmap. “The first biggest investment we make as people. People is the number one investment for us…We're selectively investing in areas that can accelerate our product roadmap, and Device42 is a good example.”
The firm started laying off employees across multiple rounds since last year. In March 2023, the firm had announced axing around 114 jobs. It undertook another round of layoffs in following June when around 90-100 jobs were cut.
In May, in a major management realignment Girish Mathrubootham, who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Nasdaq-listed Freshworks became the executive chairman of the company while Dennis Woodside has been named his replacement.
There have been a slew of management changes within the SaaS firm. In Q4, Chief Revenue Officer Pradeep Rathinam left the company and Abe Smith was appointed as the global field operations leader. Other recent appointments include Mika Yamamoto as its first chief customer and marketing officer (CCMO), and Johanna Jackman as the new chief people officer (CPO).
In an interview with Moneycontrol, then CEO Mathrubootham said that the company is maturing, and as the team leader, he needs to field the best one to win, speaking about the management changes within the firm.
Also Read: As team captain, I need to field the best one to win: Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham
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