Casper cuts its CMO, CTO and COO amid further layoffs

Casper has laid off dozens of employees, including three C-Level executives: its chief marketing officer, chief technology officer and chief operating officer, sources say. The mattress company declined to comment.

The round of layoffs, communicated to employees on Friday, largely impacted retail and operations teams, signaling that the business may be undergoing a broader restructuring. Laid-off employees were offered severance packages.

Notably, the impacted executives were all fairly recent additions to the team. CTO Ben Clark has been with the company since July 2019, while former CMO Lisa Pillette joined Casper in March 2020. Casper COO Charles Liu had only been at the company for eight months before this round of layoffs.

Casper’s CFO remains at the startup, but that role has had some significant turnover as well. In an April 2020 business update, Casper announced that Gregory Macfarlane, its CFO and COO at the time, was leaving the company. Interim CFO Stuart Brown eventually took the role, and three months later resigned. The latest CFO, Michael Monahan, took the position effective August 31, 2021.

Over a year ago, Casper announced it was shutting down its European operations, cutting 21% of its global workforce. The move was then attributed to Casper’s new goal of  “achieving profitability,” which included a focus on North American operations.

The business hinted then that the temporary closure of its retail stores impacted its overall direct-to-consumer channel, forcing it to take steps to minimize operating costs. Now, the startup is going one step further by eliminating roles within its retail and operations teams.

One founder in the direct-to-consumer space, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to her lack of direct knowledge with the company, said that Casper’s layoffs could also be a response to iOS 14.5, Apple’s latest software that will crack down on apps that track users’ data without permission. The setting restricts the advertising data that companies can access, making it harder to justify budget and understand the efficacy of their sales strategy.

“Performance marketing through paid channels, specifically Facebook and Instagram, is wonky right now,” the person said. “So, if they were really reliant on that channel that could be something that is affecting their sales.”

Casper priced its IPO shares at $12 and debuted at $14.50 a share just as the COVID-19 pandemic was gaining momentum in February 2020. The company dove nearly 72% from its opening price before recovering, reaching a more recent peak of nearly $11 in February 2021. Today, the company trades at just above $5, a decline of more than half from its opening.