Spotify to cut 200 positions, equalling 2% of its workforce

Swedish music streaming giant Spotify said on Monday that it will cut some 200 positions, equalling 2% of its workforce, as it slims down its internal podcast operations.

The Sweden-based company said it had recently “embarked on the next phase of our podcast strategy,” and was moving to a “tailored approach optimized for each show and creator.”

“Doing so requires adapting; over the past few months, our senior leadership team has worked closely with HR to determine the optimal organisation for this next chapter,” Spotify said in a statement.

“As a result, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to make a strategic realignment of our group and reduce our global podcast vertical and other functions by approximately 200 people,” it added, noting it represented about 2% of Spotify’s global workforce.

The streaming giant, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, announced in April it had passed 500 million monthly active users with 210 million paying subscribers.

The company also posted a first quarter operating loss of €156 million (R3.2 billion), compared to an operating loss of €6 million (R123.7 million) a year earlier.

The widened loss was, according to the company, attributed to a higher headcount compared to a year earlier and changes in social charges.

In January, following similar moves by other tech industry giants, the streaming giant announced it was cutting around 600 jobs.

The platform has only occasionally posted a quarterly profit since its launch and has regularly posted annual losses, despite strong subscriber growth and having had a head start on its rivals such as Apple Music and Amazon Music.

Spotify has also invested more than €1 billion (R20.6 billion) into podcasting in recent years, but analysts say the company has yet to prove the investment is bearing fruit. AFP