Japan-headquartered telecommunications and internet group SoftBank intends to cut about 10% of the staff at its Vision Fund, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
SoftBank is making the changes as part of a wider cost-cutting drive following its confirmation last week that Vision Fund has booked a loss of roughly $18bn over the past year.
The largest proportion of those losses came through investments in co-working space provider WeWork, the valuation of which has tumbled from $47bn in early 2019 to a reported $2.9bn, and ride hailing platform Uber, the share price of which has fallen 15% since February.
However, much of the fund’s customer-facing portfolio has suffered during the coronavirus-related lockdown, including on-demand ride providers Ola, Didi Chuxing and Grab, and businesses focusing on tourism or real estate.
The first Vision Fund raised $98.6bn towards a $100bn target and has reached capacity for new investments, but the firm has found it far more difficult to raise money for a second vehicle.
SoftBank Investment Advisers, which manages Vision Fund, currently has about 500 team members spread across its UK headquarters and offices in Japan, California and Singapore according to Bloomberg. The projected cuts are set to take place at every level, the sources said.
Despite the forthcoming reduction in staff, Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra is set to receive a 113% increase in his annual salary to about $15m this year, according to a notice sent by SoftBank to shareholders this week.
The same statement reportedly placed Vision Fund’s staff numbers at 454 however. It is unclear whether or not the difference reflects cuts that have already taken place.
