VC-backed CloudTrucks blames ‘tough freight market’ for layoffs

June 1, 2023

Like many FreightTech companies that have laid off workers in recent months, CloudTrucks blames the declining freight market for the job cuts.

“In this tough freight market, we must focus on operating efficiently so we can best serve our customers and maintain competitive rates,” Tobenna Arodiogbu, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based CloudTrucks, said in an emailed statement to FreightWaves.

The venture capital-backed trucking technology provider, which has raised nearly $142 million since its founding in 2019, declined to disclose the exact number of employees affected or the percentage of the company’s workforce that was part of the layoffs announced last week.

PitchBook, an online resource tool for analysts, private equity and venture capital investors, puts CloudTrucks’ official employee count at 112 employees in 2022.

CloudTrucks, which markets fintech solutions aimed to help owner-operators run their trucking businesses, raised $115 million in Series B funding in November 2021 in a deal led by Tiger Global.

“We are immensely grateful for the contributions of each of our departing employees and are committed to offering support to impacted employees while ensuring that the company moves forward in a way that is best for our customers, our partners and the future of the business,” Arodiogbu said.

Besides Arodiogbu, CloudTrucks’ co-founders include Jin Shieh and George Ezenna.

Nearly 730 tech companies have laid off more than 201,000 employees since the start of 2023, according to data compiled by Layoffs.fyi, a website that’s been tracking tech layoffs since March 2020.

SONAR: National Truckload Index is a 7-day average of spot market rates, which is the bread and butter for many owner-operators.

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