SoftBank’s Vision Fund plans to lay off up to 30% of its staff

SoftBank’s Vision Fund arm is planning major layoffs, looking to cut up to 30% of its staff globally, Bloomberg reported.

Citing sources close to the matter, the publication said that this will affect about 150 employees. Internally, SoftBank planned to lay off about 20% of its workforce, while executives called for a 50% reduction.

It was not revealed which regional offices would be hit, as a Vision Fund spokesperson declined to comment on Bloomberg‘s queries.

In August, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said that he will be implementing cost-cutting measures across the group after it reported US$23 billion in losses for the second quarter of 2022. Of that amount, US$17.3 billion was attributed to the firm’s Vision Funds.

The Japanese conglomerate has also turned to selling portions of its stake in Chinese tech giant Alibaba to raise capital for its second Vision Fund, which has had trouble attracting outside investments.

Despite the poor performance of the previous two funds, SoftBank may launch a third Vision Fund with its own cash.

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