SoftBank plans Vision Fund job cuts

TOKYO, Aug 08 (Reuters): SoftBank Group Corp is planning to cut headcount at its flagship Vision Fund investing arm, CEO Masayoshi Son said on Monday, after a crash in the value of its portfolio pushed his conglomerate to a record quarterly net loss.
Vision Fund, which upended the world of venture capital with splashy bets on startups such as ridehailers Uber and Didi, posted a $23.1 billion loss in the April-June quarter as value evaporated from its investments in the market rout.
"The world is in great confusion," Son said at an earnings news conference. The result caps a tumultous six months for the Vision Fund, which posted a record $26.2 billion quarterly loss in May after SoftBank was caught out by rising interest rates and political instability that hammered markets globally.
Son has already radically scaled back investment activity. The Vision Fund arm approved just $600 million in new investments in the first quarter, compared with $20.6 billion in the same period a year earlier.
On Monday, the billionaire pledged to go further: limiting the second fund just to managing its current portfolio of investments, while planning workforce cuts at Vision Fund and cost reductions across the group.