Return to site

Zepz Navigates Turbulent Fintech Seas, Axes 26% of Crew

By WOM

May 16, 2023

SUMMARY

  • Zepz, the fintech powerhouse behind WorldRemit and Sendwave, is laying off 420 employees amid an ever-challenging market.
  • The layoffs primarily impact customer care and engineering teams, part of a strategic move to centralize operations.
  • Despite significant job cuts, Zepz is still hiring for 200 positions, showcasing its ambition to streamline and grow.

The fintech goliath, Zepz, is making some big moves, and not in the usual high-flying, champagne-popping way. They're trimming down the team, saying a not-so-tearful goodbye to about 420 of their crew. CNBC got the exclusive scoop, but it's clear that the world of financial technology is hitting some gnarly waves.

Zepz, the parent company of WorldRemit and Sendwave, dropped the news on their staff like a bad break-up text. The announcement spread faster than a viral meme, and by Tuesday, everyone at the company was in the loop. With about 1,600 peeps on their payroll, this move is slashing roughly 26% of their workforce - a real tough blow.

The folks on the customer care and engineering teams are getting the worst of it. Zepz is planning to consolidate these roles into more centralized hubs. This sounds like they're trying to turn the chaos of their multinational operations into a sleek, streamlined machine. They're calling this their "workforce optimization" strategy, a fancy term for cutting out the redundancy after merging Sendwave and WorldRemit.

Even though Zepz is handing out pink slips like they're going out of style, they've also got about 200 job openings. Their CEO, Mark Lenhard, insists that this is all part of their master plan to transition from two disjointed teams into one dynamic force. His vision? A streamlined structure that sets the company up for long-term success. But let's not forget, this isn't the first time Zepz has made such moves. Just last year, they axed about 5% of their workforce.

Zepz, once the golden child of the UK fintech scene, was born from the entrepreneurial spirit of British-Somalian entrepreneur, Ismail Ahmed. The idea sparked from Ahmed's struggle to send money to his family back in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Now, Zepz enables users worldwide to zap money abroad in the blink of an eye. Despite the recent turbulence, Zepz is still making waves, and it's clear that they're not going down without a fight.


WOM Money Picks

Be a part of the winning team | 81% Success Rate.