Changes to Shopify’s team
Key ideas
Lütke's layoff email takes personal responsibility for a failed growth bet, explains the reasoning behind it, and spells out what departing employees will receive.
- 1
The news and who it affects come early
Lütke's email states the cut in its second paragraph: about 10% of staff leaving that day, mostly in recruiting, support and sales. He says emails clarifying who is affected will go out within minutes, followed by a meeting with a team lead.
- 2
He explains the bet behind the decision
Lütke writes that when pandemic demand surged, Shopify bet that ecommerce's share of retail would permanently jump ahead and expanded the company to match. He adds that it could not know for sure at the time, and that the mix has since reverted to roughly where pre-Covid data pointed.
- 3
He says plainly whose call it was
Lütke writes that placing the bet was his decision and that he got it wrong, then apologizes to those leaving. He presents the cuts as a consequence of that bet.
- 4
He makes the exit terms concrete
The email lists severance scaled by tenure, removal of any equity cliff, extended medical benefits, and outplacement with career coaching and interview support. Smaller items include continued internet costs, keeping home office furniture, a laptop allowance, an opt-in list shared with other companies, and a free Shopify account.
- 5
He says what the smaller company is for
Lütke closes by saying every remaining team now either builds products or directly supports those who do, with the aim of helping merchants through a hard economy. He describes this as growing into something more focused rather than something bigger.
In Tobi’s words
“Ultimately, placing this bet was my call to make and I got this wrong.”
Tobi Lütke·Changes to Shopify’s team·Read in context(opens the original in a new tab)“We bet that the channel mix - the share of dollars that travel through ecommerce rather than physical retail - would permanently leap ahead by 5 or even 10 years.”
Tobi Lütke·Changes to Shopify’s team·Read in context(opens the original in a new tab)“Most of the adaptations we’ve had to make have been to grow into something bigger. This time we grow into something more focused, more driven, and more singular in mission.”
Tobi Lütke·Changes to Shopify’s team·Read in context(opens the original in a new tab)About this entry
- Published
- Jul 26, 2022
- Publisher
- shopify.com
- Type
- Essay
- Language
- English
- Added
- Nov 2, 2026
- Source last checked
- Nov 2, 2026
Cover photo of Tobi Lütke, not from this work: Benjamin Forrest, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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