Israeli-US fintech company Bluevine is firing 100 employees including 30 in Israel. The business banking solutions and services company currently has 500 employees worldwide, meaning that the layoffs represent 20% of the workforce. The 20% figure also applies to the Israel development center, which has 150 employees.
"It's obviously a difficult process and nobody would want to do this," Bluevine's CEO and cofounder Eyal Lifshitz tells Globes. "In terms of the company and its strategy, we are making positive progress. The strategy is working well, and we have expanded significantly in terms of our platform.
"We provide full banking services in the US. We have 200,000 accounts with a balance of over $1 billion in deposits. So we continue to grow in terms of the scale of activity and the need to have a wave of layoffs is purely for efficiency. The importance of charting a path to profitability here is becoming increasingly critical, by adapting to reality, the market, and investor expectations."
Lifshitz also told Globes, "The organizational change is focused on making employee teams more efficient. There has been no focus on layoffs in this or that department, but rather a real focus on how we, as an organization, can work more efficiently."
Business accounts without monthly fees, and geographical expansion
Bluevine was founded in 2013 in Tel Aviv by Eyal Lifshitz and Nir Klar, who identified a major gap in banking services for small and medium-sized businesses, as the comp[any itself describes it. Shortly after its founding, the company opened its headquarters in Silicon Valley and began expanding in the US market.
In 2019, the company reached a significant milestone when it granted loans worth $1 billion. In 2020, following changes in the banking world, Bluevine launched a business account with no monthly fees, while expanding the financial solutions it offers. The company's geographic expansion also continued with the opening of offices in Austin, Texas, and India.
In 2022, the company launched a payment management system and developed a dedicated interface for accountants and bookkeepers. Last year year, Bluevine launched a business credit card. Today, the company provides financial services that include business accounts, loans, credit cards, and international payments.
To date Bluevine has raised $250 million from investors including Citi Ventures, Greylock, Vintage Partners, Lightspeed, and OG Ventures.
The company said, "Out of a desire to adapt the company's activities to the changes taking place in the global market and the desire to continue to implement the company's long-term strategy in an efficient way and in line with the company's targets, it was decided to part ways with about 18% of the company's employees worldwide. The move was made in parallel with the continued growth of the company's small business banking platform and out of a need to ensure its continued success for many years to come. As part of Bluevine's commitment to the employees who have been supporting it, the company will assist them in finding a new job and will support them during the period of adjustment in their new path. Israel is the company's main R&D center, which will continue to drive the company forward and ensure that Bluevine remains a global leader in its field, strong, growing, and financially stable."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 10, 2024
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