Kickstarter provides protections for laid-off workers

At the end of April, Kickstarter CEO Aziz Hasan announced imminent layoffs at the crowdfunding company. This was to offset the decline in revenue that the platform saw after projects on the site dropped by about 35 percent.

Kickstarter currently employs 140 people, with around 85 of them being members of the union organization called Kickstarter United. Last week, the union announced it has worked out a lay-off agreement with the management.

Kickstarter United members have negotiated the following provisions:

• Four months of severance pay for all laid-off employees;
• Four months of continued healthcare coverage for employees earning more than $110,001;
• Six months of continued healthcare coverage for employees earning $110,001 or less;
• Release from non-compete agreement upon accepting severance; and
• Recall rights of one year for members to return to any forthcoming job opening within their “classification,” and a number of other provisions.

According to the union, layoffs might include up to 45 percent of the Kickstarter workforce, but the spokespman for the crowdfunding company explained to The Verge that it “hasn’t made any statements about the potential scale of the layoffs.”