This is a note I sent earlier today to all employees at Bird on why we are decreasing our European headcount by 20% as we shift our employee base closer to our customers in the US.
Hi Team,
Today I've made the difficult decision to reduce Bird's headcount by approximately 20%. The majority of the reduction is in Europe, with smaller adjustments across the rest of the business.
I want to be direct with you about why.
When I founded Bird 15 years ago in Amsterdam, we had no choice but to go global from Day 1. The Netherlands and Europe were simply too small a market for the company I wanted to build. Fifteen years later, the centre of gravity of the business has shifted: 75% of our revenue now comes from US-headquartered companies, including most of the Fortune 500, all of big tech, and many AI-native companies. As per my recent shareholders note, Bird is profitable and growing, with roughly $250m in net revenue for 2025 and based on valuation roughly the 30th largest company of The Netherlands. However comparing to the US we would not even make the top 1000. This decision is not about whether the business is healthy. It is about where the business has moved and its future to grow and win which is simply shifting away from Europe.
Two things are driving the change. The first is geography. Our engineering and operations teams were built for a company headquartered in Amsterdam, and our customers in 2026 are increasingly not. We need to be closer to them. The second is AI. It has changed how we work, and tasks that required dedicated headcount even a few years ago no longer do.
Building a global tech company from a European base has also gotten harder over the past decade. That is a longer conversation, one I have made publicly, and it is part of the picture here. We are continuing to hire in the US, recently across GTM, with more to come in engineering and other functions. This is not a reflection of your performance. It is about where Bird needs to be, and how we need to operate from here.
To those of you leaving: thank you. You poured yourselves into Bird and helped build something extraordinary. I'm grateful for everything you've contributed, and I'm sorry.
Within the next 15 minutes you'll receive an email to your personal inbox with details on next steps and the support we're providing. In line with our security policy, your system access will be removed at the same time.
To the team staying: I know today is hard. We're saying goodbye to colleagues and friends. What we've built together is rare, and protecting it - and growing from here - is what this decision is about. We'll hold an All Hands later today; you'll receive an invite shortly, and I'll answer your questions there directly.
Thank you to everyone affected for what you built here.
Robert
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