Music streaming giant Spotify is making another round of job cuts, slashing 17 percent of its global workforce as the company continues its strategy to become “both productive and efficient.”
In a blog post published Monday, founder and CEO Daniel Ek wrote that the new layoffs would “reduce our total head count by approximately [17 percent] across the company.” The Stockholm-based company says approximately 1,500 jobs will be impacted by the cuts.
The cuts come after the company decimated the head count at its podcast division, with layoffs in January (600 laid off) and June this year (200 laid off) that followed cuts in October 2022. The cost-cutting has also hit programming, including ending its exclusive podcasting deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in June. Spotify also merged podcasting studios Parcast and Gimlet into a single division after canceling 10 shows from the two companies.
The most recent cuts come as the company has been stepping up its focus on profitability. In October, Spotify reported better-than-expected third-quarter subscriber gains and a surprise operating profit. The company ended September with 226 million paying premium subscribers, up from 220 million as of the end of June, exceeding its forecast that it would reach 224 million in the latest period.
“I realize that for many, a reduction of this size will feel surprisingly large given the recent positive earnings report and our performance,” Ek wrote explaining the decision. “We debated making smaller reductions throughout 2024 and 2025. Yet, considering the gap between our financial goal state and our current operational costs, I decided that a substantial action to rightsize our costs was the best option to accomplish our objectives. While I am convinced this is the right action for our company, I also understand it will be incredibly painful for our team.”
Later in the post, Ek wrote, “The decision to reduce our team size is a hard but crucial step towards forging a stronger, more efficient Spotify for the future. But it also highlights that we need to change how we work.”
