Spotify has announced plans to cut one in six jobs to ensure it is ‘right-sized’ for future challenges.
In an announcement to employees earlier today, the music streaming platform’s CEO Daniel Ek said the company would slash its headcount by 17% – a decision that would “impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions”.
“To be blunt, many smart, talented and hard-working people will be departing us,” he said.
“For those leaving, we’re a better company because of your dedication and hard work. Thank you for sharing your talents with us. I hope you know that your contributions have impacted more than half a billion people and millions of artists, creators, and authors around the world in profound ways.”
The Swedish company employs around 933 employees in the UK. It is not yet known how many of these jobs will be affected.
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It is the second round of job cuts in less than a year. In January Spotify announced that it was making 6% of its workforce redundant.
Ek said the firm had debated making smaller reductions to headcount in 2024 and 2025, but this was not possible due to the current gap between its financial goals and operating costs.
He said the company was “more productive but less efficient” in 2022 and 2023, and there was still a way to go before it could be considered both productive and efficient.
“Today, we still have too many people dedicated to supporting work and even doing work around the work rather than contributing to opportunities with real impact. More people need to be focused on delivering for our key stakeholders – creators and consumers. In two words, we have to become relentlessly resourceful,” Ek said.
“The Spotify of tomorrow must be defined by being relentlessly resourceful in the ways we operate, innovate, and tackle problems. This kind of resourcefulness transcends the basic definition – it’s about preparing for our next phase, where being lean is not just an option but a necessity.”
Employees at risk of redundancy are set to attend meetings with HR by the end of Tuesday.
Most employees will receive five months of severance pay, calculated based on their notice period and tenure. They will also receive outplacement support for two months.
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