Spotify is planning to lay off 200 employees from its podcast department (2% of its total workforce), the company announced last Monday.
Spotify Head of Podcasts Sarah Elhabashi said the move was done as part of the “next phase” in the company’s podcast strategy, which includes expanding partnership efforts, maximizing podcast consumption, broadening analytic capabilities, and leveling up advertising offerings.
“Unfortunately, this means saying goodbye to close colleagues and friends. We know news like this is never easy, especially for those impacted. These decisions are not something we take lightly,” she added.
Moving forward, the company will merge true-crime podcast network Parcast with award-winning network Gimlet into a “renewed Spotify Studios” operation that will continue to produce originals and new shows.
Employees laid off have been contacted by HR and will receive severance packages, healthcare coverage, and access to outplacement support.
The latest job cuts come after a broader scheme to lessen the overall workforce of the audio streaming company.
Last January, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek made the decision to layoff 6%, or roughly 600 employees from its total headcount.
“As you are well aware, over the last few months we’ve made a considerable effort to rein in costs, but it simply hasn’t been enough,” Ek wrote,” Ek explained.
A week after the layoff announcement, the company said it will be shifting from its previous podcast strategy into a newfound strategy that involves creating original podcast content to minimize financial dependency on music streaming.
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