It’s layoff ‘season’ at Phil Libin’s Airtime

Summary

Airtime, the video startup from Evernote’s founder Phil Libin, has laid off dozens of employees, TechCrunch has learned, and Airtime confirmed. According to the company, 25 people were let go from the 58-person team — a change Airtime described as “bigger than usual.” While Airtime characterizes the departures as part of its typical seasonal approach to employment, sources inside the company said staff were surprised by the announcement. Many were under the impression the startup intended to raise funds this year and were previously told no cuts were planned, they said. Formerly known as mmhmm, Airtime was launched in 2020 by Libin, whose Evernote, a note-taking startup, was valued at nearly a billion at its height before being sidelined by newer competitors like Notion. (The company later sold to Bending Spoons in 2022 for a decidedly smaller figure.) First launched amid the COVID pandemic, when all office work had suddenly shifted to video, Airtime today offers two key tools for online meetings. Its “AirTime Creator” lets users present a deck while appearing on screen at the same time, while its “AirTime Camera” allows users to create custom looks to stand out in meetings. Image Credits:Airtime The startup introduced a “seasons”-focused employment structure in late 2022, following a layoff of around 10%-15% of the staff, which had capped the company’s headcount at 100 while it searched for product-market fit. The idea was introduced so staff wouldn’t face any surprise firings or layoffs. Instead, the company would decide roughly every six months who would be invited back for the next “season.” This plan allowed Airtime to give staff a longer heads-up if they weren’t going to return, so they had time to seek other employment. And ideally, employees would work throughout a full season before choosing to quit. Such a structure, as you can imagine, was controversial. But until now, the deal had been honored on both ends. The recent layoffs have frustrated staff becaus...