Whereas the takeover of enterprise banking startup Brass by a bunch of traders was broadly hailed as a win by the tech ecosystem, it additionally entailed a restructuring that noticed a number of workers depart the enterprise.
An preliminary TechCabal report claimed solely Sola Akindolu, the CEO, Emmanuel Okeke, the CTO, and head of design, Tolulope Saba, left the corporate, however 16 workers who had been furloughed in March 2024 had been additionally laid off.
“Whereas Brass has been recapitalized, the brand new working mannequin [which prioritises prudent runway management] requires a smaller crew throughout this era of transition, and in consequence, the furloughed crew members have been let go,” Brass stated in an announcement confirming the layoffs.
It was a disappointing flip of occasions for the workers, who had been informed by the earlier administration that they’d return to the corporate after the furlough. Two former workers claimed the layoffs occurred instantly after the acquisition was communicated.
“Whereas the product and customer-facing expertise stay the identical, for all intents and functions, back-of-house operations at the moment are run by a brand new firm,” Brass stated in an announcement.
The restructuring didn’t solely impression furloughed workers.
“They gave the remaining workers [including team executives/ team leads] a option to resign from the corporate or have their roles re-evaluated by an interview,” a former workers informed TechCabal. “Practically seventy p.c of non-furloughed Brass crew members who had been curious about becoming a member of the brand new entity had been retained and re-hired.”
Brass confirmed that individuals who didn’t move the analysis or opted to depart the corporate parted methods with a severance of 1 month’s pay. Brass’s objective is to maintain the headcount at manageable ranges.
The corporate has nonetheless not named a everlasting CEO and CTO, and within the interim, a crew of former Brass and present Paystack workers are main the crew.