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IT software giant Kaseya has clarified that job cuts to over 150 employees were not lay-offs, but were, in fact, performance-based terminations.
Kaseya plans to replace workers, the majority of whom worked in the company’s sales division.
“There were no layoffs,” said Xavier Gonzalez, Kaseya’s chief communications officer, in a statement. “We had performance-based terminations, and all those roles will be backfilled.”
Gonzalez adds that Kaseya will aim to hire “dedicated professionals who will prioritize our customers' success and better align with our company goals.”
The security software developer – which sponsors the arena in which Miami Heat play their fixtures – has increased headcount, predominantly in its Miami offices - by around 25% since the beginning of 2023, growing from around 4,000 to 5,000 employees globally.
In February 2023, Kaseya announced plans to hire 3,400 workers in exchange for $4.5 million in targeted performance-based incentives from Miami-Dade council to be paid over five to 10 years.
Gonzalez, speaking to the South Florida Business Journal, says around 150 workers were axed, though some employees have claimed the number is far higher.
An account manager who lost their job told CRN that they had viewed documentation indicating over 300 workers were cut from Kaseya’s offices in Miami. The worker also suggests there have been mixed messages about whether the cuts were due to layoffs or poor performance.
“They said ‘laid off’ verbatim in the meeting and that unemployment was effective immediately,” they explained.
Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola has previously criticized IT companies that have made tech layoffs, suggesting they overstretched on labor costs.
Workers question job cut process
The now-former employee also suggests that the move was unexpected. “They gave us a promise in the sales kickoff that they wouldn’t be letting go of any employees,” he added. “If anything they’d be hiring employees because we had a $7 million stipend from Miami to hire more people. It turns out they fired half of their go-to-market workforce in Miami.”
The worker says Kaseya broke the news by calling them into a room with 40 people for a ‘performance review,’ only to be told they were being let go. “They said we were all being laid off, yet sent nothing in writing… They say it was based on performance, but they also fired people who met their quota,” the account manager claimed.
Kaseya has not responded to the claims from the worker.
Other employees who were cut took to LinkedIn to share their frustrations. “Tuesday was the toughest day of my career and my last day at Kaseya. Only two words can sum it up: Shocked and Heartbroken,” wrote Evan Margulies, a director of enterprise sales for mid-market at Kaseya.
Gonzalez says it is not the first time the company has made performance-based job cuts and sees it as a part of the company’s growth plans. “The company continues to grow in all areas,” Gonzalez said. “We continue to hire.”
