Greenlight, kid-focused fintech startup, lays off 104 employees to optimize expenses • TechCrunch

Image credit: Green light

Greenlight, a fintech startup that offers debit cards for children, has laid off 104 employees — or over 21% of its total workforce of 485 employees — to “better align with ongoing operating expenses” amid the economic downturn.

TechCrunch learned of the layoffs that were announced to its employees earlier this week. The startup later confirmed the development via email.

“The macroeconomic environment has affected virtually every business, including Greenlight. We recently made the difficult decision to better align our ongoing operating expenses with the current environment,” a Greenlight spokesperson said in a statement sent to TechCrunch.

The spokesman said the affected employees would receive severance pay, extended medical coverage and career transition support. The startup announced the decision on Tuesday and now has a workforce of 381 employees.

“The company remains committed to its mission of helping parents raise financially smart children. As Greenlight moves into 2023, Greenlight will be focused on continuing to serve its growing customer base and finding new, impactful ways to improve financial literacy for families,” the spokesperson said.

Greenlight offers kids a debit card, banking app and financial education to make them financially smart and independent. Community Federal Savings Bank issues the Greenlight Debit Card.

In December, the Atlanta-headquartered startup introduced an online financial literacy library aligned with the K-12 national standards that will be free for schools, teachers and students. In October, it also added family safety features to its Greenlight Infinity subscription plan, which is priced at $14.98 per month for the whole family.

According to the data available on Crunchbase, Greenlight has raised about $556.5 million since its inception in 2014. The funding included the $260 million Series D round announced in 2021 at a value of $2.3 billion.

Greenlight is one of the latest startups to lay off its employees during these challenging times. In recent days, startups such as Career Karma, Carta and Coinbase have let many of their employees go to reduce expenses. Big tech companies including Amazon and Salesforce have also laid off thousands of workers this month as the economy continues to struggle. In addition, the growing economic downturn has affected prominent fintech startups, including Stripe, which laid off 14% of its workforce in November. The startup also cut its intrinsic value again to $63 billion, TechCrunch reported earlier Thursday.