Andela Announces The Layoff Of 400 Engineers in Africa

Africa focused company that identifies and develops software developers announced the layoff of 400 junior engineers. The cut off will be across Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. Unlike the usual layoffs, this one is due to market demand, said CEO Jeremy Johnson. 

The layoff news came on the heels of the release of Andela's annual income crossing $50 million. It hits the annual income of $50 million for the first time in the company’s history. 

The surprising cut off is substantiated by the CEO of the firm in a conversation with TechCrunch. We have witnessed the transformation in the market and customer demands. Customers nowadays are looking for experienced engineers, he said. 

Andela is basically an American company that zeros in on the African market for rectifying the global technical talent crisis. It distributes a vast number of engineering teams with Africa’s software developers.

It has headquarters in Lagos, Nairobi, Kampala, Kigali, New York, San Francisco, and Austin. By its D series, it has acquired a total investment of $181million. 

Including the layoff number, Andela has 1575 engineers working on the area. According to Johnson, the layoff will lift the market from misreading it.

To redeem the cut-off, he assured that the company would bring around 500 mid and senior developers in next year. Also, he admits the mistakes of hiring more junior engineers on board than the company is able to place for remote work. 

Announcement of $50 million in 2019 projected income and the layoff is not clear yet, but speculations are making the rounds. Some suggest that a couple of announcements would be to soften the concerns in its financial performance.

The skyrocketing startup growth in Nigeria and Kenya gives the green light for layoff-victims to get jobs in these countries. Yet, it is not sure whether the startups can give sound packages to the developers.