Airbnb cuts recruiting staff headcount

(Corrects headline and first paragraph to remove reference to 30% headcount reduction)

(Reuters) -Home rental firm Airbnb Inc laid off some of its recruiting staff this week, a company spokesperson said on Friday, noting that it’s not an indication of more widespread layoffs.

The decision, first reported by Bloomberg News, affected less than 0.4% of the San Francisco-based company’s total workforce of about 6,800, the spokesperson said.

“We’ve become a leaner and more focused company over the last three years,” Airbnb spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the company expects to grow its headcount this year.

The company said in February it expects headcount growth in the range of 2% to 4% in 2023, compared with 11% growth last year.

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Airbnb laid off 25% of its workforce, or nearly 1,900 employees, after its business was hit hard as global travel came to a standstill.

(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)