Companies in several corners of the restaurant technology sector — ranging from the third-party delivery and POS system spaces to the virtual brand subsector — continued to battle a volatile economic climate in H1. In a bid to manage losses and right their ships, a handful of major firms cut staff in the first half of the year. 

Olo slashed 11% of its workforce last month as part of a strategic reorganization that included the addition of a COO to its C-suite. The restructure also aimed to better align Olo’s tech and products teams around its Order, Pay and Engage product suites, and followed a $13.7 million loss in Q1. The company also stated in a 10-K filing that it “may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability.”

Grubhub and Gopuff cut staff in June and March, respectively. Gopuff’s staff reduction followed two previous layoffs, but the company said March’s cuts weren’t related to cost cutting and reflected annual performance review evaluations. Grubhub, by contrast, said it was letting go around 400 employees to counter growing operating and staffing costs. 

Perhaps the most dramatic workforce reduction was Nextbite’s, the once-flashy virtual brand platform that has a range of partnerships with celebrities and major QSR chains. The company hadn’t secured new funding since early 2021 and made multiple cuts to its staff in the last year and a half; some employees reported the company was restructuring. Shortly after the cuts, Nextbite sold to C3 founder Sam Nazarian. The company’s headquarters will move to C3’s Miami HQ, as a result. 

Learn more about restaurant tech layoffs during H1 2023 and what they may indicate about the market: