Tinder — one of the most popular dating apps currently available across the globe — laid off around 10 percent of its staff last week.
TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that the company laid off six members of the 60-65 member team, including three marketing employees and three engineers.
We’re told this wasn’t part of a re-structuring, or even a result of leadership changes with new CEO Chris Payne and VP of Engineering Hugh Williams, but rather a spring-cleaning of sorts.
Here’s Tinder’s official statement on the matter:
A small number of employees moved on from Tinder last week. This decision was made after carefully reassessing the current needs of the company. We believe these changes are essential as Tinder continues to grow and evolve. We are continually adding world class talent to the Tinder team while remaining conscious of maintaining a nimble organization.
Tinder has gone through much larger transitions before, including a lawsuit waged by former VP of Marketing Whitney Wolfe, the resignation of CMO Justin Mateen, and the transition of Sean Rad from CEO to President. Since then, Chris Payne has joined the team as CEO and Hugh Williams has taken over the engineering squad.
The first year of monetization can be tricky for any social startup, and with the complexities of Tinder Plus — ads, premium features, oddball pricing, etc. — it would make sense to double-check that the team is as lean as possible.