Plaid lays off 20% of staff

Financial services connectivity startup Plaid Technologies has laid off around 260 employees – shrinking its workforce by ~20%.

In a letter to employees that was posted on Plaid’s website, CEO and co-founder Zach Perret writes that during COVID the company “saw a dramatic increase in fintech adoption,” but macroeconomic conditions have changed “substantially” this year, leading Plaid customers to experience slower-than-expected growth.

In 2020, Visa announced plans to acquire Plaid for $5.3 billion, but after a civil antitrust lawsuit by the Department of Justice, the plan was abandoned.