Spotify Laying Off 200 Employees in Its Podcast Division

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify is undertaking a “strategic realignment” of its podcast division, laying off about 200 staffers.

Sahar Elhabashi, Spotify’s VP, head of podcast business, announced the job cuts in a memo to employees Monday that was shared publicly.

The 200 employees represents about 2% of the audio streamer’s worldwide workforce. The layoffs come after Spotify cut 6% of its total headcount earlier this year and saw the exit of Dawn Ostroff, chief content and advertising business officer, who had previously headed Spotify’s podcast business “We are expanding our partnership efforts with leading podcasters from across the globe with a tailored approach optimized for each show and creator,” Elhabashi wrote. “This fundamental pivot from a more uniform proposition will allow us to support the creator community better.

However, doing so requires adapting; over the past few months, our senior leadership team has worked closely with HR to determine the optimal organization for this next chapter.