Upstart Holdings Inc. UPST, -3.80% has eliminated the positions of 140 hourly employees who processed loan applications, the financial-technology company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday. The company, which uses artificial intelligence to inform lending decisions, attributed the move to “the challenging economy and reduction in the volume of loans on our platform.” The company had 1,497 employees at the end of last year. Upstart shares were ahead 5% in Tuesday morning trading. The rally comes as fellow fintech company SoFi Technologies Inc. SOFI, +7.90% posted better-than-expected results for its third quarter and disclosed that it saw $2.8 billion in personal-loan originations during the period. Upstart is due to post its own results next Tuesday, Nov. 8. Shares of Upstart have declined 84% so far this year as the S&P 500 SPX, -0.40% has fallen 18%.
