Calgary-based Neo Financial has laid off 102 employees, representing roughly 10 per cent of its workforce, as the fintech moves to simplify its operations and sharpen its product focus.
The cuts affected nearly every part of the company, according to a message shared with employees and published on LinkedIn by co-founder and CEO Andrew Chau.
Chau took responsibility for the decisions leading to the layoffs, saying Neo’s rapid expansion and efforts to build multiple products simultaneously had introduced complexity and slowed the organization.
“We’re going to build fewer things faster, and build them exceptionally well,” Chau wrote.
The company plans to concentrate its resources on helping Canadians manage their money, improve their credit, build savings and ultimately pursue homeownership.
Affected employees will receive severance, extended benefits, career transition support and, for those who had not reached their equity vesting cliff, a waiver of that requirement.
The restructuring follows a period of significant capital raising and infrastructure expansion for Neo. In February, the fintech secured $68.5 million from more than 100 Canadian investors to support its inaugural securitization program.
Two months later, Neo became a direct participant in the Interac e-Transfer network, giving it greater control over money movement features for its more than one million customers.
Founded in 2019, Neo has raised more than $650 million and offers credit cards, savings accounts, mortgages and embedded financial products.
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