NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Spotify announced today (June 5) it is laying off 200 employees, or about 2% of its workforce, as part of a podcast reorganization. A memo from Sahar Elhabashi, Spotify VP/Head of Podcast Business to the company’s staff, outlined the cuts and reasons for it.
The company is also merging its Parcast, Gimlet, and Spotify Studios divisions, with The Ringer remaining separate under Bill Simmons, who continues as Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization. VP/Head of Global Podcast Studios Julie McNamara will oversee Spotify Studios, with Liliana Kim as Head of Current Content, Liz Gateley as Head of Development, and Bryan Thoensen as Head of Content Partnerships.
The memo first touts the company’s successes in podcasting with several paragraphs about the company’s expansion in the medium, but midway through, says, “over the past few months, our senior leadership team has worked closely with HR to determine the optimal organization for this next chapter. 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, or 2% of Spotify’s workforce.”
Affected employees, Elhabashi writes, have already “received an invite for a 1:1 conversation today with a member of our HR team” and will get “generous severance packages, including extended Healthcare coverage and immediate access to outplacement support.”
