Big restaurant tech supplier Olo is laying off 11% of its staff, or 81 people, as part of a reorganization designed to streamline the business, the company said Wednesday.
In a memo to employees, CEO Noah Glass said that the move will ease complexity and redundancy that resulted after the acquisition of customer data firm Wisely in 2021 and the launch of a payments product last year.
The company’s existing “Business Units” will be narrowed down to three core segments: Order, Pay and Engage.
“The reorganization of these teams is driving the majority of the reduction in force taking place today,” Glass wrote. He noted that the layoffs are part of a “strategic evolution” and not a reflection of the teams’ performance.
A separate strategic review designed to optimize Olo’s investments led to layoffs on the G&A and Go To Market teams.
As part of the restructuring, Olo is hiring a chief operating officer. Joanna “Jo” Lambert, who was most recently a strategic advisor to Yahoo and has held senior executive roles at PayPal, Venmo and American Express, will start July 5. She will lead Olo’s product and engineering teams and drive the strategy behind its new business categories.
Glass noted that Olo valued Lambert’s payments experience as it looks to prioritize and grow Olo Pay.
New York City-based Olo offers online ordering, order integration, payments and marketing software for large restaurant chains. It has reported consistent revenue growth since going public in March 2021 but also regular net losses. Its share price has declined 75% since the IPO.
Despite the layoffs, Glass wrote that he is as confident as ever in Olo’s opportunities and position “at the forefront of digital transformation.”
“While saying goodbye to colleagues and friends is never easy, I am confident we will move forward and navigate this time in Olo’s history with resilience and emerge stronger than ever for the exciting journey ahead,” he wrote.
Employees losing their jobs will get three months of paid severance, plus one additional week per year of tenure, three months of paid COBRA health insurance and accelerated equity vesting.
The layoffs join the ongoing parade of job cuts in the restaurant industry and beyond. Earlier this week, third-party deliverer Grubhub laid off about 400 people, citing high operating costs, while Wendy's, McDonald's and Chipotle have also cut jobs in recent months.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.