The firm answerable for giving your favourite D tier celebrities a monetary lifeline reportedly fired 1 / 4 of its employees.

The celeb greeting service reportedly laid off 87 employees this week, which quantities to round 25% of its complete employees, according to one worker talking with The Information. That unhealthy information, the worker mentioned, got here throughout a Wednesday all-hands assembly. Cameo CEO and co-founder Steven Galanis confirmed the layoffs in an announcement despatched to Gizmodo Thursday.

“The decision to reduce our headcount was a painful but necessary course correction to ensure that we regain focus as well as achieve the agility to navigate new challenges,” Galanis mentioned.

That course correction comes after Cameo went on a little bit of a hiring spree to fulfill elevated demand for the platform throughout the pandemic. Galanis mentioned Cameo elevated its employees by fourfold throughout the pandemic, swelling from 100 to 400 employees. At one cut-off date, the now five-year-old firm achieved a valuation of over $1 billon. Those short-term good points had been destined to come back crashing again down.

“We hired a lot of people quickly, and market conditions have rapidly changed since then.” Galanis mentioned. “Accordingly, we have right-sized the business to best reflect the new realities.”

Cameo reportedly laid off a number of senior executives, together with chief know-how officer Rob Post, Chief Product Officer Nundu Janakiram, and Senior Vice President of Marketing Emily Boschwitz.

The layoffs mark a sudden fall from grace for the corporate which some mentioned was “made for the coronavirus.”

For those that haven’t used the service, Cameo primarily lets customers pay to request personalised greetings from athletes, celebrities, musicians, and influencers. That easy premise offered a much-needed supply of revenue for reside performers who had been immediately pressured out of labor for months on account of lockdown orders. Since its founding, Cameo has attracted a variety of celebrities, starting from Snoop Dog and Caitlyn Jenner to Donald Trump Jr.

Bored viewers caught at dwelling had been greater than prepared to dish out some money to see their favourite stars want them pleased birthday. According to Variety, Cameo generated $100 million in income in 2020 which comes out to 4.5 occasions extra income than it made the earlier yr. That identical yr the corporate reportedly bought 1.3 million movies and added 10,000 new creators, Axios notes. Last yr, Cameo reportedly raised $100 million from traders together with Amazon and Google.

Looking ahead, Galanis mentioned he’s “bullish” on Cameo’s medium and long-term future, saying the latest layoffs will permit the corporate to pour extra sources into different smaller segments like Cameo for Business, Represent and web3.

“The actions we have taken to balance our costs with our cash reserves will best position the company to take full advantage of those growth opportunities,” the CEO mentioned.