Upwork's Lifted buys Berlin employer of record WorkMotion

Upwork's Lifted buys Berlin employer of record WorkMotion

3 November 2026: WorkMotion, a Berlin company that employs staff on behalf of businesses hiring abroad, has been acquired by Lifted, a wholly owned subsidiary of Upwork. The deal gives Lifted direct employment, through employer of record (EOR) and staff augmentation services, in more than 30 countries, on top of the independent contractor and agent of record services it already offers in more than 180. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Not yet independently verified. No price was disclosed, and we could not read Lifted's or Upwork's own announcement (lifted.com did not answer and upwork.com refused our request); the facts come from WorkMotion's post. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

What stays the same for WorkMotion customers

WorkMotion's post is written for its customers, and the main message is continuity:

• WorkMotion remains an independent German company headquartered in Berlin, with its own brand and platform;
• chief executive Felix Steffens stays in charge;
• existing contracts, prices and contacts do not change;
• customer data stays in the EU under the existing data protection framework.

"Our team has turned WorkMotion into a growing, successful company," Steffens says.

Lifted's plan for direct employment

For Lifted, WorkMotion fills a gap. An employer of record is the legal employer of a worker in a country where the client has no entity, handling contracts, payroll, tax and benefits; contractor management, Lifted's existing business, does not cover people who must be employed. The combined company plans to set up more of its own legal entities worldwide over the next two years, and WorkMotion says the focus is small and mid-sized businesses in Europe, with the goal of becoming Europe's leading EOR provider.

"Together, we will enable enterprises with a consistent experience and predictable pricing, wherever they hire," says Ernesto Lamaina, general manager at Lifted. startup.eu notes that the deal follows Lifted's purchase of Ascen last year, which added direct employment in the United States and Canada; WorkMotion was founded in Berlin in 2020.

Questions for HR and finance teams

For companies already using WorkMotion, the practical checks are about the parts that may change later: whether employees will move to Lifted-owned entities as those are set up, how that would affect employment contracts and payroll in each country, and where data will be held once the platforms are linked. For companies comparing EOR providers, the deal adds a large US marketplace owner to a market where in-country entities, not software, decide who can employ where.

Company profile on TrustList: WorkMotion

Related on TrustList:

• Fifteen employment rule changes in nine countries this autumn
• Offshore staff augmentation in 2026: a buyer's guide by country
• CERT Polska: three flaws in ZUS's Płatnik contributions software

Sources

• WorkMotion: Lifted, an Upwork company, acquires WorkMotion, 3 November 2026
• startup.eu: Lifted acquires WorkMotion, 4 November 2026