Shopify stock tanks amid planned layoffs and slowing e-commerce growth

Shopify Inc. SHOP, -15.51% is planning to lay off around 10% of its workforce as it admits that e-commerce growth hasn’t continued as robustly as expected. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news Tuesday, citing a memo to staffers. Shopify confirmed the details in a blog post. The layoffs are expected across the company but are expected to especially hit the recruiting, support, and sales teams. The company plans to notify employees of the decisions Tuesday. Chief Executive Tobi Lütke took responsibility for overly optimistic e-commerce projections in his memo to the staff. Shares of Shopify were off more than 12% in premarket trading Tuesday. The company, which is due to report second-quarter results before Wednesday’s opening bell, has seen its stock sink 73% so far this year as the S&P 500 SPX, -1.01% has declined 17%.