WeTransfer set to lay off hundreds of staff after Bending Spoons acquisition

Bending Spoons is set to lay off a staggering 75% of the WeTransfer headcount after acquiring the file-sharing platform just a few weeks ago.

The company, which is believed to have around 350 workers could lose around 260 members of staff in one of the biggest series of layoffs proportionally this year.

News of the job cuts comes a little over a month after the Italian tech firm acquired WeTransfer, marking its fifth tech merger of 2024.

WeTransfer prepared for major layoffs

Bending Spoons has a proven track record of heavily reducing workforces following recent acquisitions, along with making other consumer-facing changes to subscriptions. When TechRadar Pro probed Bending Spoons about the potential implications of the merger, including layoffs, the company declined to comment.

It has since come to light via a Reuters report that company CEO Luca Ferrari has confirmed layoffs to the tune of 75%, commenting: “I won’t be more specific at this stage because the layoff hasn’t been fully defined yet.”

At the time of the acquisition, Ferrari stated: “We’re enthusiastic about becoming [WeTransfer’s] new owner, and we feel a strong sense of responsibility to help the brand and the business thrive for many years to come.”

In a statement to TechCrunch, Ferrari added: “In this particular case, the vision we developed is of a smaller, more sharply focused WeTransfer organization, which we believe will be better-positioned to serve WeTransfer’s success with a long-term view.”

This isn’t the first time that Bending Spoons has enacted drastic changes for a company that it has bought out. In July 2024, under its new Italian leadership, it was confirmed that “most” US- and Chile-based Evernote workers would be made redundant as the note-taking platform packed its bags and headed to Europe to be closer to the Bending Spoons team.