Adtech company Teads is laying off staff 10 months after closing its merger with Outbrain

• Adtech company Teads is laying off staff, Business Insider has learned.
• A spokesperson said the reduction will affect less than 10% of its workforce.
• The layoffs follow the merger of Outbrain and Teads 10 months ago.

Adtech company Teads told employees this week it is laying off staff across its global offices, Business Insider has learned.

A spokesperson for Teads confirmed the layoffs, adding that they affected less than 10% of the company's head count. They declined to provide further comment. Teads had roughly 1,800 employees as of November.

The news comes roughly 10 months after Outbrain, the adtech company best known for its content recommendation widgets, closed its $900 million acquisition of Teads from the European telecommunications giant Altice. Though Outbrain was the acquirer, it rebranded to become Teads.

David Kostman, formerly Outbrain's CEO, became CEO of Teads once the merger was completed. At the time of the deal's closing in February, Kostman said the deal would create a company that addressed "a large gap in the advertising industry," combining Teads' video expertise with Outbrain's performance marketing capabilities to build "a scaled end-to-end platform that can drive outcomes, from branding to consideration to purchase, across screens."

It's not been smooth sailing.

Teads' share price is down more than 90% year to date. The company missed on both revenue and earnings per share in its third quarter and issued a profit warning.

Kostman said on the company's November earnings call that Teads had experienced complexities due to the merger process, as well as "macro volatility in certain geographies and verticals."

The company recently hired adtech veteran Mollie Spilman as its chief commercial officer, as part of its plan to turn around its business.

This is a developing story. More to follow. Check back for updates.