Varo Bank lays off 75 employees

Progressive-backed Varo Bank has laid off 75 employees (10% of its staff) as part of an effort to move toward profitability.

The digital banking startup raised a $510 million series E round at a $2.5 billion valuation last September, and it became the first consumer neobank to secure a national banking license with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

“Today is a difficult and emotional day for all of us at Varo, as we’ve had to say goodbye to 75 Varo team members whose roles have been eliminated. This was an extremely tough decision. As a business, we are not immune to the impacts of our current environment and we must make some difficult decisions to ensure that Varo has sufficient capital to execute on our strategy and path to profitability. This is in addition to steps we’ve taken to decrease our burn rate, including limiting hiring to the most critical roles and pulling back on marketing investments in the near-term.” – Varo Bank CEO Colin Walsh.