Montreal tech startup RenoRun laying off 43% of staff amid market uncertainty

Concerned about current market conditions, a Canadian tech company has announced another round of sweeping layoffs in a bid to reduce costs.

According to multiple reports, RenoRun, a Monteal-based startup that delivers construction materials to contractors, has cut 210 jobs, or 43 per cent of its workforce.

The reduction comes after the company, which offers an Instacart-like service, laid off 12 per cent of its staff in August and paused expansion plans.

“The level of uncertainty in both the macroeconomic and the venture capital environment means we need to plan for the worst and reduce expenses,” RenoRun CEO Eamonn O’Rourke told The Globe and Mail. “To manage the company’s risks, we’ll focus on serving our base of core customers and doing it profitably.”

The North American tech sector has experienced a flurry of layoffs this year as businesses brace for a possible recession.

In addition to RenoRun, Microsoft, Meta, Shopify, Snap, Hootsuite, Article, Unbounce, Clearco, Q4, and Wealthsimple have substantially reduced their workforces as they continue to monitor market uncertainty.

According to The Globe, RenoRun employed more than 550 people in July.

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Termination agreements for RenoRun employees

When employers don’t declare bankruptcy, non-unionized workers are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

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• Severance for technology industry employees
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.