In early February Finder, which was founded in 2006, announced it was making about 15 per cent of its then 500-strong workforce redundant after a troubled foray into cryptocurrency and a broader technology industry downturn.
Finder CEO Frank Restuccia, left, with co-founders Jeremy Cabral and Fred Schebesta in happier times.Companies that need to do lay-offs typically try to cut staff in one go to avoid repeatedly battering morale and stoking fears that more redundancies are coming. On Tuesday a Finder spokesman confirmed it was doing a further “restructuring” that will eliminate about 40 roles globally.
“We made this difficult decision in order to simplify the business and to up-weight our relative investment in Australia and other priority markets,” the spokesman said. “We are confident this puts the business in a strong financial position to continue to help consumers make better financial decisions through particularly challenging economic times.”
Finder allows customers to compare services like insurance and mobile phone plans. It makes money on referral fees when a customer purchases a product they found on Finder’s site, and from selling ads. Schebesta, whose public profile is arguably higher than the company he co-founded and had an estimated net worth of $214 million in a 2021young rich list, stepped down as co-chief executive in December last year but remains executive chair. Another co-founder, Frank Restuccia, is now global chief executive.