Foursquare Lays Off 105 Employees

Foursquare, which merged with Factual in 2020, is on the list of companies cutting jobs in 2024

In an email to employees dated Thursday afternoon, current CEO Gary Little announced the layoff of 105 individuals stated that the organization is implementing measures to “establish a more sustainable financial foundation” and “streamline operations.” 

Access to the affected systems was revoked for employees who received Foursquare’s notification email. 

As of the publication of this post on Thursday evening, Little had yet to respond to a request for comment. Furthermore, his letter to employees must provide insight into Foursquare’s future strategy. As per a particular source, the reductions affect approximately 25 percent of the organization’s workforce. 

However, the letter does specify which units were affected and, more importantly, which divisions Foursquare intends to eliminate, namely Visits, OCF, and Foursquare City Guide. 

Foursquare is reportedly halting development on several other projects, including “Mobile Developers Tools,” “Geode,” and the current iteration of FSQ Insights,” as stated in Little’s letter. 

Foursquare, an early iPhone darling that encouraged users to “check in” at locations to earn badges and was funded by hyperlocal ad revenue, transformed into an enterprise technology company whose data is utilized by publishers and brands. 

As an illustration, Atmosfy, a short-form video platform funded by seed capital that encourages users to investigate local businesses, integrates Foursquare’s API into its application. 

Following its acquisition of Factual, a company whose location software assisted marketers in targeting specific consumer segments (e.g., individuals seeking to purchase a new residence), Foursquare continued to advance similarly. 

Foursquare is one of many that experience unemployment today. Personnel were terminated at the time of the merger, and some companies disclosed an additional round of cutbacks in 2022. 

Little assumed the CEO position in late 2020, approximately six months after the announcement of Foursquare and Factual’s all-stock merger, during which the merged organization discontinued the Factual brand. 

The specific financial details of the agreement remained undisclosed; however, Little was predominantly appointed to safeguard and expand an investment made in Foursquare by The Raine Group, a merchant bank where Little previously held the position of managing director and which in 2019 led a $150 million funding round in Foursquare. 

Foursquare has not disclosed a new funding round to the public since then. The approximate total funding raised by the 15-year-old company over the years is $400 million.