In a letter to staff at the Toronto-based company on Wednesday, CEO Michael Katchen said 159 of the 1,262 people working for Wealthsimple would leave the company through the move.
	He cited the cuts as part of the effects of months that saw the market soar and Wealthsimple grow at an “unprecedented” rate amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 
	The company’s valuation reached $ 5 billion and raised $ 750 million from a star-studded list of investors, including rapper Drake and actors Ryan Reynolds and Michael J.  Fox, as money was channeled into the tech sector during the health crisis. 
	“Of course instability works both ways, and we see the other side now as pandemic market conditions unfold,” Katsen wrote to workers. 
	“Many of our customers are experiencing a period of market uncertainty that they have never experienced before.”
	The changing circumstances mean that the company will now focus more on core businesses, such as investments and banking, and products that it believes will fuel economic innovation, such as those in the cryptography industry.
	Wealthsimple will reduce its investment in other areas, such as peer-to-peer payments, tax and merchant services and restructuring teams dedicated to recruitment, marketing, customer success and research, Katchen added.
	“Today will be difficult – there is no problem,” he said in a statement.  “But our mission has never been more important.”
	Wealthsimple job cuts come as global tech companies prepare for a market correction and possible recession as tech stocks weaken and some stocks fall sharply by 50 percent from their COVID highs. 19.
	Netflix, Klarna, Cameo and Bolt are among those already laid off, although many others are freezing.
	Technology incubators, including DMZ in Toronto and Communitech in Waterloo, Ont.  advise start-ups to boost their cash reserves, prepare for less investment by venture capitalists and focus on parts of their revenue-generating businesses.
	Wealthsimple was founded in 2014 by Katchen and is primarily owned by Power Corp.
	This Canadian Press report was first published on June 15, 2022.