San Francisco, Mar 24 (IANS): Employer rating website Glassdoor will reduce its workforce by roughly 15 per cent, affecting 140 employees, its CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong has announced, blaming the "shifting macroeconomic environment".

In a memo sent to employees, Sutherland-Wong said that from the start, "we said that layoffs would be a last resort".

"Unfortunately, we have reached that point. It is with a heavy heart that I share that I have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce. Today we are going to say goodbye to around 140 of our colleagues, who represent approximately 15 per cent of the Glassdoor team," said the CEO.

Those in the US whose roles are being impacted will receive a meeting invitation to meet with managers or team leads.

"EMEA employees will receive an invitation to either a UK or Ireland Town Hall meeting where we'll share specific next steps for those markets," the company informed.

"This outcome is devastating and please know that we made all attempts to control costs to avoid this. We paused hiring. We cut programme costs. We cut travel and events. Unfortunately, this was not enough," the CEO mentioned.

Last quarter, US sponsored jobs were down 33 per cent year over year. The company saw declines in retention rates for aEmployer Branding' customers too.

"It has become increasingly clear that this is just the beginning of a broader economic slowdown, as the job market cools after the post-Covid boom," said Sutherland-Wong.

The severance for impacted employees will include a minimum of 16 weeks base pay and healthcare coverage for 4 months.

They will also get 100 per cent payout of aSpring 2023' bonus, and full payout of earned commissions and spiffs, said Glassdoor.