SoftBank prepares new round of layoffs at Vision Fund

SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese multinational investment holding company headquartered in Minato, has planned a fresh round of layoffs at its Vision Fund investment arm, according to reports.

It is the latest cost-cutting move at the Japanese conglomerate, which focuses on investment management. The layoffs could be announced in the next two weeks. The Internet services company’s Vision Fund unit had a headcount of 349 at the end of March, according to a company report. 

A source told Reuters that the layoff could impact up to 30% of its staff at the unit, including employees in the U.S. SoftBank’s Vision Fund unit has suffered due to heavy investment losses.

The source declined to be identified because the information was confidential. SoftBank also did not comment on the matter. 

According to reports and two sources, the layoffs can eliminate about 150 jobs across the world at the investing arm and SoftBank Group International in September 2023. 

SoftBank reported an annual net loss of 970 billion yen for the year ended March 31. It also suffered due to the investment loss at SoftBank Vision Fund. 

According to a Reuters report, the company had incurred heavy losses. According to a Vision Fund report, the company also sold its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK).

Various companies have also laid off employees or slowed the hiring process in the current economic downturn. In recent months, Meta Platforms Inc., Tesla Inc., Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc., LinkedIn, Twitter, Nvidia, Snap, Uber, Spotify, Intel and Salesforce have laid off employees and slowed down the hiring process. 

Last year, the American tech giant, Apple, laid off staff amid the fear of a recession. Almost 100 contract workers were laid off in a rare move. They were reportedly responsible for hiring new employees for Apple. Some employees were asked to leave their jobs at Apple’s offices in Texas and Singapore.