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

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

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
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • 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
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang
C-SuiteJensen Huang
Jensen Huang is ‘perfectly fine’ with a billionaire tax, shrugging off concerns that it might scatter Silicon Valley’s talent pool
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 7, 2026
1 hour ago
CryptoCryptocurrency
Exclusive: Fireblocks acquires crypto accounting platform TRES Finance for $130 million
By Ben WeissJanuary 7, 2026
3 hours ago
Sarandos
Big TechM&A
‘Largest LBO in history’: Warner rejects Paramount again, scoffing at $87 billion worth of debt in its $108 billion bid
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 7, 2026
3 hours ago
two men pose for camera
CryptoBitcoin
Stanford professor raises $15 million for Babylon, a decentralized protocol to turn Bitcoin into collateral 
By Carlos GarciaJanuary 7, 2026
4 hours ago
Fridtjof Berge is the Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer of Antler
Startups & VentureVenture Capital
25 is the new 30 when it comes to AI founders as Gen Z entrepreneurs lead the way on billion-dollar unicorn startups, top VC partner says
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 7, 2026
4 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Crystal Ball: Where venture capital and private equity are headed in 2026
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 7, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Janet Yellen warns the $38 trillion national debt is testing a red line economists have feared for decades
By Eva RoytburgJanuary 5, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Mark Cuban on the $38 trillion national debt and the absurdity of U.S. healthcare: we wouldn't pay for potato chips like this
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 6, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Law
Amazon is cutting checks to millions of customers as part of a $2.5 billion FTC settlement. Here's who qualifies and how to get paid
By Sydney LakeJanuary 6, 2026
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
'Employers are increasingly turning to degree and GPA' in hiring: Recruiters retreat from ‘talent is everywhere,’ double down on top colleges
By Jake AngeloJanuary 6, 2026
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Blackstone exec says elite Ivy League degrees aren’t good enough—new analysts need to 'work harder' and be nice 
By Ashley LutzJanuary 5, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
The college-to-office path is dead: CEO of the world’s biggest recruiter says Gen Z grads need to consider trade and hospitality jobs that don't even require degrees
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJanuary 6, 2026
1 day ago

© 2025 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.