Spotify Announces Layoffs To 6% Of Its Workforce

Key takeaways

• Spotify announced that the company is laying off 6% of its workforce
• Dawn Ostroff, former head of content, is one of the key employees leaving the company
• The news of layoffs prompted Spotify’s stock to jump

Spotify is the latest company in the tech industry to announce layoffs. While the number of laid-off employees is less than some tech giants, hundreds of employees are still out of a job at the streaming service.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest layoffs and how this action might impact investors—plus, how Q.ai can help investors in the tech space.

Spotify layoffs

Earlier this week, Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, announced a wave of layoffs. In a memo posted on Spotify’s website, Ek revealed that the company is reducing its staff by approximately 6%. Based on Spotify’s employee roster, this means around 600 employees will be out of work.

Within the memo, Ek commented on the changing dynamics of the organization, stating that “Over the next several hours, one-on-one conversations will take place with all impacted employees. And while I believe this decision is right for Spotify, I understand that with our historic focus on growth, many of you will view this as a shift in our culture. But as we evolve and grow as a business, so must our way of working while still staying true to our core values.”

Another key staff change is that Dawn Ostroff will be leaving the company. Ostroff, former head of content for the company, joined Spotify in 2018. She was a crucial player in Spotify’s push to expand its podcasting and advertising business. A few of her key deals included Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe Rogan and Kim Kardashian.

Ek called out Ostroff’s efforts in the memo, “because of her efforts, Spotify grew our podcast content by 40x, drove significant innovation in the medium and became the leading music and podcast service in many markets. These investments in audio offered new opportunities for music and podcast creators and also drove new interest in the potential of Spotify’s audio advertising. Thanks to her work, Spotify was able to innovate on the ads format itself and more than double the revenue of our advertising business to €1.5 billion. We are enormously grateful for the pivotal role she has played and wish her much success.”

Based on the memo, the choice to institute layoffs came after considerable effort to rein in other costs throughout the year.

Investor response to Spotify layoffs

When layoffs make a splash in the headlines, gut reactions are often negative. After all, no one likes to see people lose their jobs.

However, from an investor’s perspective, layoffs can actually provide a silver lining. Essentially, layoffs represent cost-cutting measures to move the company toward a more profitable state. When a company is actively pursuing cost-cutting measures, many investors take that as a positive sign.

In the case of Spotify, the layoff news pushed stock prices higher. In fact, the Stockholm-based company saw its stock jump past the $102 mark. That represented an increase of approximately 4.5%. The company’s stock price fell back to under $100 per share in the subsequent days, but the immediate impact of layoffs was an increase in Spotify’s stock prices.

Time will tell how the company fares moving forward, but investors will be watching Spotify’s upcoming earnings report closely.

How to invest in tech

The tech industry has represented a worthwhile investment opportunity for decades. Here’s what you need to know about investing in tech during these tumultuous economic times.

Are layoffs a bad sign for investors?

If you’ve been monitoring the headlines, you’ve likely noticed a substantial wave of layoffs. Some massive companies, like Microsoft and Amazon, are laying off thousands of employees.

The series of layoffs stem from several factors. As the layoffs are announced, many CEOs are citing the economic climate and a focus on new technologies for the company.

Although the tech industry might face some challenges during tough economic times, that doesn’t mean the tech sector is a sinking ship. Instead, the shake-ups might pave the way for new tech advancements.

Investing with the help of technology

As an investor, monitoring all of the headlines is a good way to take the pulse of the tech industry. However, the reality is that many investors simply don’t have the time to monitor every development in the industry.

Luckily, you don’t have to monitor everything to keep your portfolio up to date. Instead of manually tracking the markets and making changes to your investment portfolio, you can take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle this task for you. It’s easy to make this dream a reality with the help of Q.ai.

Q.ai offers Investment Kits that focus on the investments you are interested in. For example, if you are interested in the tech industry, you can invest in the Emerging Tech Kit. Once you add the kit to your investment portfolio, it monitors the changing marketplace. Plus, Q.ai will make any necessary changes to keep your portfolio aligned with your goals and risk tolerance.

Ultimately, Q.ai takes the hassle out of maintaining your investment portfolio. You can focus on other things while putting technology to work for you.

The bottom line

Spotify’s announcement is another in a long string of layoffs in the tech industry. Dozens of companies in the industry have laid off thousands of employees throughout 2022 and into 2023.

As companies lay off employees, many have seen their stock prices rise in response to the news. Moving forward, these layoffs might have a silver lining for investors seeking higher profits from their investment portfolio.

Download Q.ai today for access to AI-powered investment strategies.