Squarespace cuts 19% of workforce

Squarespace founder Anthony Casalena announced the company is reducing its head count by about three hundred employees in a companywide memo sent Monday.

Most cuts hit product and engineering

The layoffs mostly affect product and engineering teams at the website-building software company, according to the memo seen by Business Insider.

Casalena cites need to adapt

The CEO wrote that the company must adapt for the modern era with smaller teams, more player coaches, and a simplified organizational structure.

“The way we need to work is changing faster than at any point in our history, and our operating model must adapt for the modern era.”

Industry transformation driving change

Casalena said Squarespace's product and industry are undergoing fundamental change in ways the company could not have anticipated in the past twelve months.

Severance includes sixteen weeks salary

Affected staff will receive a minimum of sixteen weeks of base salary plus additional weeks based on tenure, benefits through May twenty twenty-seven, and career coaching.

Visa holders get continued support

Departing employees may keep their Squarespace laptops, and those on work visas will receive continued support to help with their transition.

Livestream and all-hands meeting planned

Casalena hosted a roughly one-minute livestream presentation on Monday that did not allow for comments. The company is planning a separate all-hands meeting.

Part of broader tech industry trend

Squarespace joins a long list of companies laying off staff this year, some citing the rise in AI. Last week Microsoft offered buyouts to sixty thousand employees.