These Bill Gates-Backed Companies Are Slashing Jobs Because Of Financial Struggles While He Added Billions To His Net Worth

Two startups Microsoft Corp. Founder Bill Gates heavily invested are facing major employee cutbacks as they wrestle with financial difficulties.

AgBiome: Layoffs And A Race To Raise Capital

AgBiome, an agtech startup based in Durham, North Carolina, is in the throes of a critical period as it considers laying off all of its 123 employees. Elizabeth Claypoole, AgBiome's head of people and culture, indicated that the layoffs began on Oct. 16 and are scheduled through Dec. 15 and are likely to be permanent. Even Co-CEOs Scott Uknes and Eric Ward find their names on the layoff list submitted to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Ward informed WRAL TechWire that while AgBiome is still operational, the company is in dire need of capital to sustain its business. Despite closing a funding round of $117 million in 2022 and raising over $200 million in the past decade, the startup struggles to keep its doors open.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested significantly in AgBiome, making seven grants for research over the years.

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Convoy: Trimming The Ranks To Entice Buyers

Convoy, a Seattle-based trucking startup, is also taking dramatic steps. The company plans to reduce its workforce substantially. The cuts are seen as a measure to make the startup more appealing to potential buyers, likely those from established companies in the trucking sector.

Convoy's already reduced its employee count from 1,500 at its peak to around 500. Cash reserves are depleting rapidly, insiders say.

Gates, currently the sixth-richest man in the world according to Forbes 400,

 and Amazon.com Inc. Founder Jeff Bezos, the second-richest man globally, are among the prominent investors in Convoy. A recent email from Convoy to its customers announced that the company could not accept new orders and advised the cancellation of existing orders due to be picked up in the next three days.

Impact On Workers And The Broader Economic Climate

The financial turbulence hitting companies like AgBiome and Convoy is not just a matter of investor reports and balance sheets; it's a human issue affecting the lives of hundreds of workers. People are losing their jobs at a particularly challenging economic moment marked by high inflation rates and the skyrocketing cost of living.

Inflation has been eroding the purchasing power of everyday people, causing prices of basic goods such as food, housing and fuel to rise sharply. Job security is more important than ever, and the loss of employment means more than just a lost paycheck — it can mean the loss of healthcare, the ability to pay rent or the means to put food on the table.

While Gates and other high-profile investors might weather these financial downturns with ease, the employees of the startups they back face a far more precarious future. Layoffs at AgBiome and Convoy contribute to the already concerning levels of unemployment and by extension, may exacerbate economic inequality.

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