McCandless’ Smith Micro announces layoffs in pursuit of profitability

McCandless-based Smith Micro announced it will begin executing a cost reduction plan, including layoffs, with the goal of reaching profitability by the third quarter of 2023.

According to the Wednesday announcement, the 40-year-old, publicly traded software development company, which develops white-label services for the mobile industry, will be reducing 26% of its total global workforce. That includes the United States, Portugal, Serbia and Slovakia.

“We are very focused on bringing our cost structure into alignment,” Smith Micro President and CEO William Smith Jr. said in a statement. “I am pleased with the swift actions that we have taken, which we believe give us a clear path to achieve our goal of profitability.”

As part of the reduction, as on June 30, the company’s Slovakian operations will officially close, the release said. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to Technical.ly’s request for comment on the reason for the reduction, how many employees will be impacted overall, and how many Pittsburgh-based employees this could affect.

As of September 2022, Smith Micro counted 380 employees total, including 125 based in Pittsburgh. A press release sharing news of the workforce reduction noted a count of 255 employees.

The news comes six months after Smith Micro’s $15 million raise. Smith told Technical.ly at the time that the company planned to use its new funding for growth, including executing a host of upcoming client projects and safety applications. Among the company’s core products is its SafePath platform, an app technology to “connect the family digital lifestyle” by providing parental control for screen time, location tracking and collision detection.

“This money will also give us a strong runway for several growth initiatives underway as we finish out of Fiscal 2022 and helps us build momentum for a great 2023,” Smith said in September.

Per the Wednesday announcement, the company is setting out to reduce costs by $4 million per quarter across the organization. Beyond layoffs, measures included in the initiative are salary cuts for Smith Micro’s executive team, a suspended quarterly bonus program, and a reduction of fees paid to the board of directors.

Smith Micro isn’t alone in reducing its workforce. So far in 2023, fellow Pittsburgh companies such as RoadRunner Recycling and Locomation have announced layoffs they’ve attributed to the state of the economy.