Note-taking platform Evernote announces major layoffs, plans to move operations to Europe

By Abhik SenguptaNote-taking platform Evernote is laying off most of its Chile- and US-based employees as the company plans to restructure operations to ensure long-term growth. This comes after the company already laid off 129 workers in February after failing to make profits. In its initial years, Evernote gained massive traction for letting users take online notes and syncing them across devices. However, the company faced stiff competition from smartphone OEMs like Apple, Google, and Microsoft after they launched their own native note-taking apps. Even today, several Evernote functionalities are behind paywalls. On the other hand, free-to-use apps like Apple Notes, Google Notes, and Microsoft OneNote.

In a blog post, Evernote states that it is moving its centre of operations to Europe, where its parent firm, Bending Spoons, is based. The blog post further adds that the company has initiated layoffs, and impacted workers are assured severance packages in the transition.

Evernote claims, “In most cases, this package includes 16 weeks of salary, up to one year of health insurance coverage, and a performance bonus, paid pro-rata as if the year-end performance targets have already been achieved.” The company is also offering additional support to affected workers with visa-related work. Evernote points out that it is moving operations to Europe since it is in a “position to leverage the extensive expertise and strength of the 400-plus workforce at Bending Spoons.”

Meanwhile, some impacted Evernote employees have also started looking for jobs on LinkedIn. Former IT administrator and systems engineer Jordan Jones, in a post, said, “Unfortunately, my role at Evernote has been affected by the most recent layoffs. While my time at Evernote has been great, all good things must come to an end and I will be moving on to my next endeavour.”

Another engineer, Emily Lee, with four years of experience at Evernote, got laid off. Lee states, “It was a wonderful four years, but my time at Evernote has come to an end. Evernote was such a rewarding experience. I was looking for a place to be challenged and learn something new, and it was the perfect fit. I never stopped learning the whole time I was there. I joined three different teams in two distinct roles.”

Carlos Vergara Padilla, a former employee at the Evernote Chile division, said that he was asked to quit after three years at the company. Not just Evernote, but several other tech companies have let go of employees since late last year. According to the layoffs tracker Layoff.fyi, 839 tech companies have laid off a total of 2,16,328 employees in 2023.