Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
Again, with the benefit of hindsight yes this is obvious.
You aren't using "hindsight" correctly.
The layoffs are a
current event. No one is looking back at them.
The issue is understanding what the layoffs (as a current event) means.
Everybody knows that there was a COVID-related bike boom. So, with that as a cause, it wouldn't be surprising if there were increased hires.
To make
any sense of the layoffs, the pre-COVID and COVID-era employee count should also be reported.
It's silly to report the layoffs as an "unusual" event and, effectively, ignore the whole COVID thing.
TPC quickly expanded in size and workforce since beginning in 2006 as an eBay store. In May 2021, TPC announced it raised an additional $40 million in Series B funding that would be used to grow its workforce, among fulfilling other goals. That announcement followed TPC reporting the doubling of first-quarter sales year-over-year. It reported then that revenue more than quintupled in the past two years.
The article obliquely mentions a COVID run up.
So, TDC expected the COVID-related boon to continue.
It didn't.
It doesn't take a genius to expect that the boon wouldn't continue. That expectation isn't "hindsight".
The layoffs are not surprising.