Twilio will lay off 17% of its employees, cut employee benefits, and cut CEO salary by half

Twilio Inc. (TWLO) announced it will cut about 17% of its workforce, the second round of layoffs in five months, and the cloud communications company will also scale back some employee benefits to prioritize profitability over growth.

Chief Executive Jeff Lawson said Monday that the company will be reorganized into two business units, Twilio Communications and Twilio Data & Applications. COO Khozema Shipchandler will head the new communications unit, while revenue president Elena Donio will lead the data and applications business.

Its communications business has grown too large and needs to be more efficient, while other areas need faster growth, Lawson said. The company expanded rapidly during the pandemic. Before the first round of layoffs, Twilio had 8,992 employees on September 30, 2022, up from 3,060 employees on March 31, 2020, according to regulatory announcements.