When a Developer Leaves: How Continuity and Replacement Work at Tunga
When a developer leaves or the fit isn't right, the real cost is starting over: a new search, a new onboarding, and the knowledge of your product that leaves with them. At Tunga, a professional who leaves or isn't working out is replaced at no extra cost, with no limit on how long into the engagement that holds, and your contract stays with Tunga. It is rarely needed: in 2025 about 1 in 56 placements ended because the professional left for another job, and none so far in 2026. For comparison, European tech companies lose on average 12% of their engineers a year (Ravio, all reasons for leaving).
What a departure costs
When a developer leaves, the vacancy is the visible part. The rest comes with it: someone has to find and vet a successor, the team spends weeks bringing that person up to speed, and what the developer knew about your product and your decisions leaves with them.
The smaller the team, the heavier one departure weighs. In a team of 3, one developer is a third of the capacity and often the only person who knows a part of the system.
How often developers leave, in the market and at Tunga
| 12% a year | Engineers leaving European tech companies, all reasons (Ravio, data October 2024 to October 2025) |
|---|---|
| 2.8% a quarter | ICT employees in the Netherlands who changed employer (CBS, Q2 2025) |
| 22% | Supplier relationships where Dutch IT buyers named high staff turnover as a weakness (Eraneos/Whitelane Dutch IT Sourcing Study 2025) |
| About 1 in 56 | Tunga placements that ended in 2025 because the professional left for another job (Tunga delivery data) |
| None | The same, so far in 2026 (Tunga delivery data) |
These figures measure different things, so read them as an order of magnitude rather than a ratio. What they share is the question a client cares about: how likely is it that the person in your team today is gone next year?
When the match isn't working
Whether someone is doing good work is your call. If you say it isn't working, Tunga replaces the professional.
Placements rarely end early without a replacement. Where the match not working was the only reason, it happened in 1 in 200 of the placements Tunga ran. Including cases where other reasons played a part, such as a budget cut or a project winding down, it was 1 in 40. Which number fits depends on the definition, which is why both are here.
What happens when someone leaves or is replaced
- You tell your delivery manager, or the professional gives notice to Tunga.
- Tunga starts the search from what it already knows: your team, your stack and what the role needs. You don't write a new brief from scratch.
- You get a shortlist, interview the candidates and choose, as with the first placement.
- Your contract stays as it is. There is no new contract, a replacement costs nothing extra, and it holds for as long as the engagement runs.
Why people stay
Continuity on the client side starts on the professional's side. The people Tunga places mostly want to stay: they get interesting work, good fees that are paid on time, and a personal contact at Tunga who knows them and helps when something comes up. The same holds for Tunga's own account team, where everyone has been with Tunga for at least four years, so the person you talk to stays the same too.
Some examples from Tunga's published case studies:
- Provolve IT: Amos, a developer from Uganda, worked with the team for 6 continuous years.
- rb2: a team that grew from 3 developers to 17 developers and QA specialists over 5 years and became a joint venture.
- MindRight: a partnership of more than 4 years, until MindRight changed direction in 2025.
- Cinnamon Toast: Kelly worked in the team from October 2021 until July 2024, when Cinnamon Toast hired him directly.
What replacement does not cover
- The work itself. Replacement keeps the role filled; what gets built and whether it is good stays with you.
- A role you no longer need. If your plans change, you end the engagement with 4 weeks' notice. That is your choice, and Tunga does not replace anyone you no longer want.
- The first weeks with someone new. A replacement still needs onboarding, as any new team member does. A delivery manager works alongside you in that period.
Where Tunga fits
Tunga takes the staffing side off the plate of companies that need digital professionals: software engineers, AI operators, product managers and other digital roles, from across Africa. The client directs the work. Tunga handles finding and vetting, contracts, payments and compliance, onboarding, keeping people, and replacing them when someone leaves or it isn't working. The professionals are independent freelancers contracted by Tunga and work remotely from their own country; the client has one contract, with Tunga, and a delivery manager who checks in with both sides. In 2025, about 1 in 56 placements ended because the professional left for another job. Founded in 2015; 3,500 professionals across 38 African countries and 300+ client companies, as of September 2026.
Tunga is not the right fit when the role has to be on site, when the work means talking to your clients in a language other than English or French, or when saving on cost is the main reason you're looking.
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