Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming service, has announced that it is laying off 6% of its staff in a cost-cutting measure. The move follows similar moves by other tech companies, including Uber, Microsoft, and IBM, which have all cut their staffs in response to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The layoffs, which affected nearly 500 employees, were announced in an internal memo to staff. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said in a statement that the company had been forced to make the cuts “in order to ensure our long-term success and ensure that we remain competitive and can continue to invest in innovation.”
The layoffs come as Spotify struggles to remain profitable in a difficult market. The company posted a loss of $329 million in the first quarter of 2020 and has seen its stock price fall by more than 30% since the start of the year.
In addition to the layoffs, the company has also implemented a number of cost-saving measures, such as freezing hiring for non-critical roles, reducing travel, and cutting back on certain projects. The company also announced that it would be cutting executive salaries by an average of 10-20%.