• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

'I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out': a record 51% of Americans aren't 'cost secure' on health

2

A new trade war may be brewing. This time, Europe is taking a page from Trump's playbook — 'We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows'

3

Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won

1

'I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out': a record 51% of Americans aren't 'cost secure' on health

2

A new trade war may be brewing. This time, Europe is taking a page from Trump's playbook — 'We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows'

3

Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won
TechPointCloud

Zenefits, the Troubled Software Startup, Just Cut 9% of Its Staff

By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 14, 2016, 1:24 PM ET
Photograph by Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Human resources software startup Zenefits, which laid off 250 employees in February as part of massive sales reorganization, will reduce its headcount again, according to two executive memos circulated to employees Tuesday.

The latest cost-cutting measures include the elimination of 106 positions (about 9% of Zenefits’ current payroll) in the company’s Tempe, Arizona, office. Although Zenefits will maintain a presence there, it is consolidating all sales and marketing processes into its San Francisco headquarters, said CEO David Sacks, in his company-wide email. “These changes are about working smarter, not just more efficiently,” he wrote.

When I spoke with Sacks last month, he said Zenefits employed more than 300 licensed brokers—out of a 1,000-plus total workforce—representing 10,000 different state licenses. It’s unclear how these latest layoffs will affect the total number of brokers Zenefits employs.

The workforce reduction is part of a broader restructuring that will consolidate the company’s operations into five primary departments: broker services, insurance marketplace relationships, payroll services, human resources services, and quality control.

The aim is to make it simpler for Zenefits’s approximately 20,000 customers to get questions answered, wrote Zenefits COO Abhijeet Dwivedi, who sent a separate email to employees Tuesday. “The goal of the changes we are making today in operations is to amplify what we do well, and obliterative our deficiencies,” he said.

If employees aren’t happy with the mission changes or their specific job role after the reorg, they might be paid to leave as part of what Sacks calls “The Offer.” The severance package, which is being offered just to people who have been with Zenefits since before Day One, includes two months of pay and four months of COBRA health insurance benefits. Employees have until Thursday, June 16, to accept the offer.

Sacks wrote:

As you consider your options over the next two days, please know that the company isn’t making The Offer because we don’t want you. We do want you, but we want the best of you. We want you winning core values awards. We want you prototyping a great idea at Hackday. We want you staying late to help out on a project. We want you busting ass on Z2 [the code name for the next generation of the Zenefits software platform].

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Zenefits gives away cloud software that allows small companies to manage employee-related information and process—such as payroll, time-off requests, and insurance selection. It receives fees for managing or representing certain services. A major update to this software, including a heightened push on mobile features, is set to debut in October. The company has annual recurring revenue of more than $60 million, said Sacks in his employee email.

Zenefits was once one of the most heralded software “unicorns,” a nickname for startups valued at more than $1 billion by virtue of their venture backing. Its last officially valuation was $4.5 billion.

The company has been scrambling to reposition since February, when Sacks (who was previously COO) took over from ousted founder Conrad Parker, who was blamed for overlooking gaps in Zenefits’ broker training and compliance processes.

About the Author
By Heather Clancy
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

d
EnvironmentConsumer electronics
Almost 4 in 10 Americans have a ‘junk drawer’ full of their old electronics. It’s because of a very specific anxiety
By Eric Williams, Payam Saeedi, Stacey Watson and The ConversationJune 21, 2026
6 hours ago
b
InnovationInfrastructure
Over 40,000 American bridges have structurally deficient ratings. Why aren’t we using quantum sensors on them?
By Alex Krasnok and The ConversationJune 21, 2026
7 hours ago
zak
CybersecuritySocial Media
The U.K. just banned social media for kids under 16. The founder of ‘safe TikTok’ says the U.S. is next
By Nick LichtenbergJune 21, 2026
8 hours ago
Sam Altman thinks AI will surpass human intelligence by 2030.  His rival AI billionaires say it’ll be even sooner
AISam Altman
Sam Altman thinks AI will surpass human intelligence by 2030. His rival AI billionaires say it’ll be even sooner
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 21, 2026
11 hours ago
ace
AIEconomics
Nobel Laureate Daron Acemoglu on the ‘brainless’ AI discourse, the myth of capitalism and the Gen Z revolution risk
By Nick LichtenbergJune 21, 2026
12 hours ago
Patricia Camden is EY Studio+ Customer Experience and Loyalty Leader
CommentaryConsulting
EY: we found your biggest AI blind spot. It’s called the ‘tempo gap’
By Patricia Camden and John DuboisJune 20, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

'I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out': a record 51% of Americans aren't 'cost secure' on health
Health
'I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out': a record 51% of Americans aren't 'cost secure' on health
By Ali Swenson, Amelia Thomson-Deveaux and The Associated PressJune 20, 2026
1 day ago
A new trade war may be brewing. This time, Europe is taking a page from Trump's playbook — 'We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows'
Economy
A new trade war may be brewing. This time, Europe is taking a page from Trump's playbook — 'We no longer live in a world of pink ponies and rainbows'
By Jason MaJune 20, 2026
23 hours ago
Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won
Success
Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won
By Emma BurleighJune 21, 2026
11 hours ago
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeJune 21, 2026
10 hours ago
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
Environment
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
By Sydney LakeJune 19, 2026
2 days ago
The Great Recession’s missing children are finally bringing college’s financial crisis into sight. Welcome to the ‘enrollment volatility’ era
Economy
The Great Recession’s missing children are finally bringing college’s financial crisis into sight. Welcome to the ‘enrollment volatility’ era
By Tristan BoveJune 20, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.