ID software firm Okta cuts 400 jobs worldwide amid wave of tech layoffs

It is unclear if any staff at its Irish operation will be effected by the latest round of cuts

Okta general manager EMEA Jon Addison in March 2022 with then tánaiste Leo Varadkar and then IDA executive director Mary Buckley. That was when Okta opened its first international hub  in Ireland where it expected to create 200 jobs by this year. Picture: Maxwells

US ID software firm Okta is cutting 7% of its staff to reduce costs, adding to a list of other tech firms that have been doing the same this year.

The reductions will impact about 400 employees, chief executive Todd McKinnon wrote in an email to staff on Thursday.

“We need to be mindful of our overall spend so we can continue to invest in the areas, products and routes to market with the most opportunity,” he said.

In March 2022, Okta (formerly Saasure) opened its first international hub office in Ireland where it expected to create 200 jobs by this year.

It is unclear if any staff at its Irish operation will be affected by the latest round of cuts.

Okta cut about 300 employees in February 2023 due to over hiring and “execution challenges,” according to Mr McKinnon.

San Francisco-based Okta is the latest technology company to reduce headcount this year, following Amazon, Alphabet’s Google, and Salesforce.

Okta estimates it will incur about $24m (€22m) in severance and benefits costs during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 as a result of the job cuts.

The company reaffirmed its quarterly guidance and said it will announce financial results on February 28.

The shares, which have declined 8.7% so far this year, rose 2.6% as trading opened in New York on Thursday.

• Bloomberg