Shopify last week announced that it would be the latest big tech firm to undergo mass layoffs. The company is cutting 20% of its 11,600-person staff. The news arrived during earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, shooting its stock price up as a result.
Also included in the announcement was news that the Canadian e-commerce giant had found a new owner for 6 River Systems, the warehouse automation firm it purchased in 2019 for nearly half-a-billion. It was about as good of timing as anyone could ask for. The category has been ascendent for the past decade, but things really began to accelerate during the pandemic — and 6 River had a healthy five-year head start.
But Shopify ultimately decided to cut 6 River loose among …
