SPOTIFY LAYS OFF 17% OF STAFF

Spotify is laying off 17% of its staff in a move CEO Daniel Ek calls “a strategic reorientation.” An estimated 1,500 jobs will be cut.

A leaner structure, Ek wrote in a note to staff, “will also allow us to invest our profits more strategically back into the business," adding, "With a more targeted approach, every investment and initiative becomes more impactful, offering greater opportunities for success. This is not a step back; it’s a strategic reorientation.

“We’re still committed to investing and making bold bets, but now, with a more focused approach, ensuring Spotify’s continued profitability and ability to innovate. Lean doesn’t mean small ambitions; it means smarter, more impactful paths to achieve them.”

Ek wrote in his note that the company had become more productive in the last two years when compared to the previous two years but noted, “We still have a ways to go before we are both productive and efficient... More people need to be focused on delivering for our key stakeholders—creators and consumers. In two words, we have to become 'relentlessly resourceful.'”

The company’s cost structure, despite cost-cutting efforts, remains too big “for where we need to be,” he wrote. Ek said he will discuss Spotify’s future plans during 12/6's “Unplugged” session.

Read Ek's missive in its entirety here.