Spotify, the audio streaming platform, is laying off 6 percent of its work force, or about 600 employees, joining a growing list of big tech companies that are cutting costs amid persistent worries about the global economy.
“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,” Daniel Ek, Spotify’s chief executive, said in a note to employees on Monday. The company had more than 9,800 employees at the end of the third quarter, according to regulatory filings.
The music and podcast platform is the latest technology company to lay off employees to keep expenses under control as concerns about a recession loom. Last week, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, laid off 12,000 employees, and Microsoft let go of 10,000. Media companies have also been reducing their work forces. Vox Media cut 7 percent of its staff on Friday, and in December, The Washington Post told employees there would be layoffs at the company.
The layoffs at Spotify, which is based in Stockholm, were largely because of macroeconomic challenges, Mr. Ek said in the note. “I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth,” he wrote. The company is offering employees about five months of severance pay and health care in addition to career counseling services. Spotify will incur 35 million to 45 million euros in severance costs, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr. Ek also announced some changes among Spotify’s executives as part of an effort to “restructure our organization.” Dawn Ostroff, the company’s chief content and advertising officer, is leaving. A a veteran television and video executive, she was hired in 2018 as Spotify was searching for ways to expand its offerings beyond music.
As part of the reorganization, Alex Norström, chief business officer, and Gustav Söderström, chief research and development officer, will take on roles as co-presidents.
