Spotify to sack 200 employees from its podcast unit

Spotify is cutting about 200 people, or 2 per cent of its workforce, as the streaming company reworks its podcast unit.

Sahar Elhabashi, VP – Head of Podcast Business, said in a memo that impacted employees would receive severance packages, including extended healthcare coverage and immediate access to outplacement support.

In January, Spotify announced that it was cutting 6 per cent of its global workforce, or about 600 jobs.

Elhabashi added that the Stockholm company would be combining podcast networks Parcast and Gimlet into its Spotify Studios operation.

“With these changes, we will accelerate into the next chapter for podcasts on Spotify with strong discovery and podcast habits for users, thriving monetisation and audience growth for creators, and a valuable, high-margin business for Spotify,” Elhabashi said.

Bill Simmons, the founder of The Ringer, a Spotify-owned platform, recently revealed that the streaming service is developing AI technology to use a podcast host’s voice in ads. The Hindu BusinessLine