GoDaddy is laying off some sales team members, but the small business hosting provider has tried to soften the blow with various compensation and health care benefits that appear to go beyond typical severance packages seen by ChannelE2E.
GoDaddy positions itself as the "company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs" -- a tagline that reinforces the firm's focus on Main Street U.S.A. business customers.
The GoDaddy layoffs are a timely reminder that recurring revenue businesses -- including cloud, web, hosting and MSP service providers -- aren't immune to the coronavirus pandemic, and the resulting economic fallout on business.
Technology Industry Layoffs: Complete Job Cut List
GoDaddy CEO's Memo
In a detailed letter to employees, GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani described the challenges that remote sales teams have faced amid the pandemic. Then, he dove right into the layoff details:
"Consequently, we have made the decision to restructure our sales functions leading to 814 team members impacted, with over 40% being offered alternate roles. Impacted team members are in Arizona outbound sales, Iowa sales, GoDaddy Social teams, and supporting corporate roles. Impacted team members are either departing, moving to a similar role, or being presented with the option to assume a role on another team."
The layoffs will be effective September 1, but the cuts involve some extensive GoDaddy efforts to potentially soften the blow. Check the GoDaddy math, and you'll see that every person who lost their job will receive at least three months of salary. Among other details, departing team members will:
- be placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately and are no longer expected to work;
- maintain their same healthcare benefits through September 30;
- be offered three months of outplacement services for job search support, and employee assistance through our employee assistance program through the end of the year.
On the severance front, departing employees will receive:
- Severance beyond September 1 provides two weeks of pay, for each completed year of service, with a minimum of four weeks.
- Starting October 1, 2020, GoDaddy will provide elected healthcare coverage (Medical/Dental/Vision) through December 31, 2020. The company will pay the COBRA premiums in full.
GoDaddy Business Performance
Despite the layoffs, GoDaddy "continues to grow" amid the pandemic, the company says. The company has "seen strong demand in its business, led by Domains and its Websites + Marketing offering, and management now expects second quarter revenue to exceed previously issued guidance of $790 million by approximately 1%," the company said.
