Handshake Layoffs
Industry Recruiting · Location SF Bay Area · United States · Subscribe (RSS)
Handshake has 2 publicly reported layoff rounds on record between May 5, 2020 and October 14, 2025. A total of about 100 employees were affected across these rounds.
Layoff history
Handshake cut 100 employees in mid-October 2025, 15% of its 650-person U.S. workforce, as CEO Garrett Lord declared the company was undergoing a "refounding" centered on its fast-growing AI division. That AI business hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue in under eight months and was expected to surpass Handshake's core recruiting platform by year-end, with combined ARR projected at $300 million by December 2025. Lord did not soften the rationale: "Winners and losers are being defined right now. If we don't go all-in, we are going to get lapped, because someone else will." Affected workers received larger severance packages. The company also removed one-year equity cliffs for newer employees and extended option exercise windows for longer-tenured staff.
Reason: Strategic pivot to AI division; refounding away from core recruiting business
Source: upstartsmedia.com
Handshake disclosed a workforce reduction affecting its SF Bay Area operations in May 5, 2020.
Data for Handshake is compiled from public WARN Act filings and reporting linked above. See our methodology.