Roomba developer iRobot is about to remove nearly 7% of its workforce

February 15, 2023: -On Monday, Roomba developer iRobot announced programs to cut around 7% of its workforce.

The slashes will affect almost 85 employees, iRobot said in its fourth-quarter earnings report. The firm had 1,254 employees as of December 31, 2022.

For the fourth quarter, the firm posted $84.1 million, a decrease of $357.9 million in revenue. IRobot wishes to see “muted” orders in the first quarter of 2023.

IRobot is slashing employees while it’s in the process of being acquired by Amazon. The e-commerce company announced it would buy iRobot for $1.7 billion last August, but the deal is the subject of a Federal Trade Commission antitrust review.

Increasing interest prices and slowing consumer demand have triggered fears of a recession and spurred firms to cut costs. IRobot is joining a stream of tech firms that have announced layoffs in recent months. Amazon laid off nearly 18,000 corporate staffers, while Meta, Google, Salesforce and different have announced significant job cuts.

The iRobot cuts followed layoffs of about 100 employees in August when the company cited its need to better align its prices structure with near-term earnings and cash flow and improve profitability.

The latest slashes are being made “in expectations that market conditions will be challenging into 2023,” the firm stated in the earnings release. It is taking a $4 million impairment charge due to the layoffs. On Monday, IRobot shares were down in extended trading.