Earlier today, our co-CEOs Alex Harper and Ryan Parsons sent the following note to all our team members after addressing colleagues at a townhall.
Dear Swyftxers,
Over the last few years, we’ve grown accustomed to delivering good news. As a team, we’ve been witness to a period of quite extraordinary growth and together have celebrated countless milestones on our way to becoming one of the country’s top-rated and best loved fintechs.
Today is different. As we’ve just announced to the team at our townhall, we are deeply saddened to say that 74 friends and colleagues will be impacted by our decision to reduce the size of the business.
As you’re all aware, we are operating in an uncertain business environment, with levels of domestic inflation not seen in over two decades, rising interest rates, highly volatile markets across all asset classes, and the potential for a global recession.
We started growing our team in a very different world and it’s now prudent to make sure our cost base is compatible with this extended period of economic uncertainty.
We want to be very clear that impacting our teammates in this way is a last resort and is not, in any way, a reflection of the talent or commitment of those individuals. We are parting ways with many incredibly gifted friends and colleagues that will be missed for their ingenuity and passion.
Our immediate priority is the wellbeing and future of each and every one of our impacted team members. We will do everything we can to support you during this challenging time.
As detailed at our townhall, everyone, including Swyftxers whose jobs aren’t impacted, will get an email about their role. Those affected will receive an invite to their personal email account for an individual consultation tomorrow (Thursday) with their senior leader.
Every impacted team member will be able to access confidential counselling through our Employee Assistance Program for an extended period of time, as well as career support to help you find a new role. We’re also removing any minimum service requirement to access your ESOP and we’ll be accelerating a period of vesting on top of that.
It is difficult to come to terms with the fact that we are seeing team members and friends depart. We want to thank you for your dedication and contribution to the business and our culture.
To all those who aren’t directly impacted by this decision, we want to acknowledge that we know the departure of friends will take time to settle in. We will need time to reflect and reset. Our priority is to reduce the impact of this difficult decision on all of you during this emotional time. If you need support please reach out to your leader, the P&C team, any one of our mental health first aiders, or speak to the EAP representatives who are in the office tomorrow.
It’s a hard decision to say goodbye to 21% of our team. It is our shared responsibility to continue to drive this business forward and support each other as a 250-plus strong team. Together, we will not lose focus on building towards our vision.
We share a heartfelt and grateful thank you to our departing team members. You have all contributed to growing Swyftx to where it is today. Your ongoing enthusiasm, professionalism and the impact you have made during your Swyftx journey is deeply appreciated and respected by us all.
Ryan and Alex
Swyftx