Convoy Inc., a Seattle-based trucking startup whose investors include Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, will slash hundreds of jobs in the coming days as it prepares to woo prospective buyers, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The once-buzzy startup, often described as the Uber for trucking, has already whittled its staff down to about 500 people from a peak of 1,500, and was on track to run out of money in a matter of weeks, said people familiar with the matter. A majority of the remaining employees will be let go in an effort to make Convoy more attractive to potential acquirers — most likely established companies in the trucking industry that the startup was trying to disrupt, the person said.
