Another Utah-based tech company has laid off a segment of its workforce — one of at least three major Utah tech firms to cut staff in recent months.
Lucid, a workplace collaboration software company, cut about 75 employees Sept. 25, or roughly 7% of its workforce, according to a memo sent to employees by CEO Dave Grow. The decision was made in order to “ensure Lucid is set up for continued success,” Grow wrote.
“The reality is that Lucid is a strong business that has grown steadily for over a decade. We continue to grow, we are profitable, and by all accounts, our prospects are bright,” Grow wrote. But the company is focusing on “furthering profitable growth” for a sustainable future, he continued, and the reductions are to make room for “emerging opportunities that can help us provide greater value to our customers.”
A company spokesperson did not say which departments or teams were the most heavily impacted, or how many of those positions are based in Utah. The memo said cuts were concentrated in “areas... where we are currently over-invested” and where teams could merge to “run more efficiently.”
Lucid was founded in South Jordan in 2010 and still keeps its global headquarters there, though it also has offices in Raleigh, North Carolina; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Melbourne, Australia.
Lucid had a five-year contract with the state of Utah, from 2016 to 2021, as part of Utah’s job creation tax incentive program. The contract offered up to $726,269 in tax breaks if Lucid could create 339 new jobs in five years. According to the state database, Lucid qualified for and claimed 75-100% of the credits.
“I understand that this news is hard to digest,” Grow wrote, adding that he was “truly sorry.” But, he continued, “building a great future for Lucid comes, at times, with difficult decisions like we have made today. Though we face challenges, Lucid’s future is as bright as ever, with enormous opportunities in front of us.”
On Wednesday, the consumer-experience software company Qualtrics — which has headquarters in Provo and Seattle — announced it was laying off 780 employees, or about 15% of its workforce. Pluralsight, an online training and software company based in Draper, laid off an undisclosed number of employees in July; it was the third such set of layoffs there in less than a year.
Shannon Sollitt is a Report for America corps member covering business accountability and sustainability for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.
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