Bumble cuts almost a third of staff as dating app woes deepen

Dating app Bumble is axing almost a third of its workforce, as it struggles to grow and investors sour on its prospects.

In a note to staff, chief executive Whitney Wolfe Herd said she was responding to pressures facing the company, as the dating industry faces an “inflection point”.

“We need to take decisive action to restructure to build a company that’s resilient, intentional, and ready for the next decade,” she said.

Founder Ms Wolfe Herd stepped down as boss of the firm last year, but returned in March in a bid to turn around its prospects.

Bumble, which also owns Badoo, made its name as an app on which women were responsible for initiating contact.

Only female users can make the first contact with matched male users, while in same-sex matches either person can send a message first.

The firm was valued at more than $13bn when it debuted on the stock exchange in 2021, making 35-year-old founder Ms Wolfe Herd the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.

But its shares have lost almost all of their value since, and now trade for less than $7 each.

Investors have soured on the dating sector, which has struggled to convince people to pay up for their services.

At the end of last year, Bumble reported 4.1 million paying users across its apps, up roughly 11% year-on-year. But the firm’s revenues grew less than 2% and it lost money.

The company said the jobs cuts, which affect 240 positions, would help reduce expenses by $40m a year, which it will redirect to efforts such as technology development.

Other firms in the industry, such as Match and Tinder, have faced similar struggles. Match said it was cutting 13% of jobs at last month.

Shares in Bumble rose 20% after it announced the job cuts.