Instacart Cuts Staff, Curbs Hiring in Run-up to IPO

Instacart has been letting go of staff, slowing hiring and curbing other expenses as it heads toward a public listing, when the grocery-delivery company will try to convince public investors that it can maintain its growth—and make a profit—as the economy slows.

The San Francisco startup over the last two months has fired some of its more than 3,000 workers after holding midyear performance reviews where managers were instructed to provide feedback on employees’ shortcomings, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.

Instacart joins other tech companies, including Meta Platforms, that are trimming staff by taking a harder look at employee performance or leaving open positions unfilled while avoiding highly publicized layoffs. The moves address high labor costs, which ballooned at tech companies during the boom of recent years and now look unsustainable as the economy decelerates.