Are dating apps becoming dinosaurs?
Bumble announced Tuesday that it will cut more than 30% of its total global workforce (over 350 employees) during its fourth-quarter 2023 and full-year 2023 earnings report.
The change comes as Gen Z begins to move away from dating apps. A 2023 Statista survey showed that millennials in the US make up 61% of dating app users, while Gen Z makes up just 26% of users.
However, Bumble had a strong fourth quarter, with revenue of $273.6 million, up nearly $30 million from the same period last year.
“We are taking significant and decisive actions to ensure our customers remain at the center of everything we do as we relaunch the Bumble app, transform our organization and accelerate our product roadmap,” said Lidiane Jones, CEO of Bumble Inc in a company statement. “We believe these actions will strengthen our core capabilities and allow us to continue to deliver new, engaging user experiences that create healthy, equitable relationships.”
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The company is estimated to spend between $20 million and $25 million on severance pay, benefits and other costs for employees who have been laid off.
Bumble isn’t the first in the dating app category to initiate mass layoffs.
Last year, rival Tinder announced it would cut 8% of its total global workforce, mostly in recruiting.
Bumble was founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd in 2014 in an effort to be a female-focused dating app where women are expected to initiate the conversation once a couple is matched. The company officially went public in 2021.
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In November 2023, Wolfe Herd was replaced by former Slack CEO Lidiane Jones.
Bumble surpassed $1 billion in total revenue for 2023, up 16.4% from the previous year. As of Thursday afternoon, the company was down more than 53% year-over-year.