Brno-based travel agency and flight-search platform Kiwi.com has announced a wave of job cuts which will affect 18% of employees, in what the company describes as an “operational restructure”.
Founded in 2012 under the name Skypicker, before adopting its current name in 2016, Kiwi.com is a success story among Brno’s start-ups, having grown to over 1,200 staff and controlling a large market share. However, in a press release, the company stated that it is restructuring its business in response to “significant transformation” in the travel sector.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in my life, as it affects respected team members who have been part of the Kiwi.com journey,” said Oliver Dlouhý, CEO of Kiwi.com. “The structure we have been operating with for many years, that includes capable and talented people, was put in place to support the transactional model that was right for us, the market and our customers at the time. The market we operate in is now very different and our business has changed and continues to change, which has meant taking necessary steps that will help us maintain a healthy and prosperous company in the long term.”
The press release also stated that the lay-offs are “not a hasty decision”, but are part of a long-term strategic shift that began around a year ago, including new initiatives as well as cost-control measures. The announcement was made just one day after the company announced a new strategic partnership with low-cost carrier RyanAir.
Kiwi.com is only the latest of Brno’s major expat employers to announce job cuts, following rounds of redundancies last year at RedHat, Kyndryl, Infosys, and FNZ.
