App developer Lightricks lays off 70 in Israel

Israeli video and image editing developer for mobile apps Lightricks announced this afternoon that it is laying off 80 employees, including 70 in Israel. This is a 12% cut in its workforce.

Estimates are that the Jerusalem-based company, which sells subscriptions to consumers who use its Facetune selfie editing app, is preparing for a recession and is concerned that its app is considered a luxury product. Lightricks, which has 680 employees in Israel, the US, China and the UK, says it will help the employees who are fired to find new work, through an employment agency that will assist them.

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The layoffs are across the board in every department of the company but focused mainly on marketing and operations. In a situation of economic uncertainty, the company prefers to reduce its overheads, while focusing on projects that will promote the platform for content producers.

Lightricks has been growing rapidly and has been seen as a candidate for a Wall Street IPO and has even hired Shaul Meriodor as CFO, the former head of the Ministry of Finance Budget Division. Last year, the company conducted a move aimed at reducing its dependence on sales in app stores to the general public, to focus more on design tools for editing and processing for content producers and influencers – with the aim of allowing them in the future to create revenue through connecting to brands and ads.

Lightricks cofounder and CEO Zeev Farbman said, “Following the economic situation and the global economic crisis, it is up to us ensure the success of the company in the long-term, while realizing its strategy and maintaining the current financial stability, and that is what we are striving for now. We have decided to halt projects that do not support our strategy and speed up other projects and consequently we are forced to cut some of the jobs at the company. We are cutting our marketing and operations expenditure but we will do this by protecting the terms of employment of the company’s employees. We are committed to support those employees that are leaving us and we will help them find jobs.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 4, 2022.

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