Grindr is reportedly rebuilding its workforce following a significant reduction in staff due to an office return policy. CFO Vanna Krantz, who became part of Grindr just before its public debut last year, noted Monday the company’s reliance on consultants to compensate for the loss of employees.
Grindr faces significant challenges after instituting a mandate for employees to work from the office two days a week. This policy, introduced in August by the West Hollywood-based company, resulted in nearly half of its workforce leaving. Employees had the option of accepting a relocation allowance to comply with the mandate or receiving severance pay if they chose not to. The policy was introduced shortly after employees began efforts to unionize.
By September, around 80 of Grindr’s 178 staff members had departed, according to the Communications Workers of America, which represents Grindr employees. The union has since filed a charge of unfair labor practices against Grindr with the National Labor Relations Board.
These changes have also impacted Grindr financially. The company incurred $6.7 million in severance costs in the third quarter, with total severance expenses for the year reaching $8.07 million. Despite these costs, Grindr reported a reduced net loss of $0.4 million in the third quarter, compared to a $4.7 million loss in the same period the previous year.
Krantz, a former CFO of Disney Streaming Services who joined Grindr in September 2022, revealed plans to rebuild the team but did not specify a target number for new hires. She emphasized seeking more experienced employees who align with the company’s goals and mentioned that salaries might increase as a result.
Grindr, now a public company, is optimistic about the hiring climate and its appeal to potential employees. Krantz anticipates that the headcount will eventually return close to its original number, though it might take a few quarters.
In terms of business strategy, Grindr, which had 962,000 average paying users and 13.5 million monthly active users in the third quarter, is exploring ways to convert more free users into paying subscribers. The company is also considering diversifying its services beyond its primary dating app, potentially expanding into travel, health, and fashion sectors, offering more avenues for advertising revenue.
This update from Krantz follows a recent announcement by Grindr about reducing its interest expenses by $17 million next year through the refinancing of a private loan with a new $350 million credit facility.
Awesome news that they are refilling their Weho offices with staff. Great for Grindr, great for the restaurants and stores in the area and great for Weho in general.
The employees already living in WeHo who were part of the GrindrUnited union were told to move to Chicago with only two weeks to commit to a decision. My own department (escalations, customer experience) wasn’t even kept in the US; we were threatened we’d be laid off and offshored to Columbia.
I would fire any employee who refused to work 2 days in the office. That is more than reasonable. Good for Grindr.
People living within walking distance from the WeHo office were given two weeks to move to Chicago to do 2 days a week out of a WeWork conducting Zoom calls with their managers who got to stay in WeHo. This RTO policy targeted union members almost exclusively, with exemptions granted for non-union members.
Nobody was told to move to Chicago.
Counterpoint: yes, we were
Kevin, I’m using my real name here because that’s how much I want you to know you are wrong. I absolutely was told I had to move from Los Angeles to Chicago to keep my job.
https://www.wired.com/story/grindrs-return-to-office-ultimatum-gutted-a-uniquely-queer-space-in-tech/
Every engineer who wasn’t in AI/ML was told to move to Chicago. AI/ML was told to move to a similar WeWork in FiDi SF, with no COL adjustments in pay. My own department, Escalations, and the entirety of the CX team, was instead threatened with mass layoffs as part of the RTO, then ultimately offshored to a third party contractor based in Columbia.