Just as Instagram was drowning in those Spotify wrapped posts last week, the head honcho, Daniel Ek, over at Spotify was quietly gearing up to give the boot to 17% of his crew – that’s about 1,500 employees. It’s the third time they’re shaking things up in a big way over at the music streaming giant.
Overall, the tech world’s not exactly having a field day either. Layoffs in the industry have shot up by over 50% compared to last year. We’re talking a staggering 260,000 tech employees worldwide who’ve been handed pink slips in 2023, as per the Layoffs.fyi stats. Over 1000 tech companies have shown the door to over 260,000 employees this year. To put it in perspective, last year, 1,024 tech firms let go of a total of 154,336 workers. It’s a real upheaval in Silicon Valley.
In the employment reshuffle, major players like Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce have collectively laid off a significant workforce, with Google releasing 12,000, Microsoft shedding 10,000, and Salesforce parting ways with 8,000 employees. The layoffs hit the peak in January, with 90,000+ job losses. Although the numbers tapered off until September, a resurgence in October saw over 7,000 employees facing termination.
Notably, Spotify, amidst this industry-wide employment tumult, announced a cut of 200 jobs in its podcasting division on June 5, constituting a 2% reduction in its workforce. This decision followed a January move where the company severed ties with over 500 employees.
In response to the widespread layoffs, companies cited strategic restructuring for heightened profitability. Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, articulated in a memo on the official website that economic growth slowdown and increased capital expenses prompted the need for these measures. Despite Spotify’s reported profit of $70.7 million in the third quarter, attributed to reduced spending on marketing and personnel, Ek emphasized the imperative to “rightsize” costs in light of a new economic reality.
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