SoftBank Plans To Cut 30% Of Vision Fund Staff

After facing one of the biggest quarterly losses in history, SoftBank is planning on laying off another 30% of employees, according to Bloomberg News.

The Vision Fund, SoftBank’s venture arm, reported a devastating $21.6 billion loss in August. That, coupled with plummeting valuations on SoftBank’s portfolio companies like DoorDash and Uber and the Japanese Yen depreciating in value, has set the company back more than $23 billion.

The company plans on laying off roughly 150 of 500 employees from the fund, which is based in London. Earlier in September, reports said the company planned on cutting 20% of its Vision Fund staff.

Stepping back

SoftBank has sold shares of its portfolio companies to cushion the blow of these losses, a dramatic pivot from 2020 and 2021 when the company pushed portfolio companies to debut on the public market.

CEO  Masayoshi Son offered a rare mea culpa in August, stating, “When we were turning out big profits, I became somewhat delirious, and looking back at myself now, I am quite embarrassed and remorseful.”

But while the company slashed executive pay, Son preserved his roughly $758,000-a-year-salary.

SoftBank is perhaps the largest example of companies struggling with the economic downturn after flourishing in 2021. Per Crunchbase data, more than 42,000 workers have been laid off from tech companies so far this year.

Related article links

• Tech Layoffs In 2022: The U.S. Companies That Have Cut Jobs
• What’s Spurring Tech Layoffs Today? July Wasn’t Good
• Why SoftBank’s Mea Culpa Is Rare Among Startup Investors
• SoftBank’s Vision Fund To Cut Staff—Report

Related Crunchbase Data profile links

• Learn more about SoftBank via our Crunchbase Data Profile
• Learn more about SoftBank Vision Fund via our Crunchbase Data Profile
• Learn more about SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s Crunchbase Data Profile

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias

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