Shares of Bumble Inc., the company behind the dating app of the same name, have reached a record low. The company also announced it will cut 350 jobs worldwide.
Bumble Inc., the company behind the dating app Bumble, will cut about a third of its workforce. It announced this on Tuesday when announcing the quarterly figures. The plans and a weak revenue forecast pushed the shares to a record low. At the opening of the New York stock exchange, the share fell 11 percent to $ 11.72.
The online dating industry has long been concerned about slowing user growth. In the fourth quarter, Bumble’s revenue was $273.6 million, which is below expectations.
Bumble had more than 950 full-time employees at the end of 2022, with approximately 770 of those working outside the US. By cutting 350 jobs, Bumble aims to save $55 million per year. Of that amount, the company will reinvest approximately $15 million in product development, safety and brand awareness. CEO Lidiane Jones said this. The layoffs will cost 20 to 25 million.
A reorganization is already underway in a company. In November, founder Whitney Wolfe announced that she was stepping down as CEO, but she is still chairman of the board of directors. The new team led by Jones, who came over from Salesforce Slack Technologies, will oversee a major overhaul of the dating app in the second quarter, which should make the app more attractive to younger users.
Jones admitted that the app has become slower and more confusing over the past eighteen months due to a number of product adjustments. The more expensive “premium plus” subscriptions that the app introduced have not delivered the growth that was expected. The app is going through a “generational change,” and new users “rightfully expect more” from their dating experiences, Jones added. They want a “more flexible” experience to “discover people in a more organic and natural way.” Bumble differs from other dating apps because women have to make the first move.
The competing Match Group, with Tinder as its best-known brand, has also seen the number of paying users decline for five quarters in a row, as became clear when the results were presented in January. The company has also come under pressure from investors to turn around with product changes. Match Group expects user growth to pick up again in the second half of the year.
