Amazon’s Twitch to Cut Around 500 Employees in Significant Workforce Reduction
Twitch, the live-streaming platform owned by Amazon, is set to reduce its workforce by approximately 35%, equating to around 500 employees.
Twitch has officially confirmed these layoffs in a blog post released on Wednesday, including a copy of the email sent to staff to notify them of the impending cuts. In the email, CEO Dan Clancy expressed his disappointment that the news of the layoffs had been leaked before Twitch could inform its employees directly.
He clarified that the company had intended to deliver the news on Wednesday morning but could not expedite the timeline. Additionally, Clancy pointed out that Twitch had distributed more than $1 billion to streamers the previous year, but its workforce size has yet to align with its growth.
Clancy’s email to the staff stated, “Today, I must share some extremely challenging news. As you know, we have worked diligently over the past year to manage our business sustainably. Regrettably, we still have work to do in aligning our company’s size with our needs, and it is with regret that I announce a reduction in our workforce by slightly over 500 individuals across Twitch.
This will undoubtedly be a difficult day for all of us. Our platform’s purpose is to empower communities to create together, and each one of you has played a pivotal role in nurturing our community and advancing our mission.”
He continued, “Throughout the past year, we have been focused on building a more sustainable business to ensure that Twitch remains viable for the long term. We have made various cost-cutting decisions and enhancements to our efficiency.
However, despite these efforts, it has become evident that our organization remains significantly larger than necessary, considering the scale of our operations. Like many other tech companies, we are now adjusting our organization to match the current scale of our business and conservative growth projections.”
This development adds to the challenges the company has already faced, including prior job cuts, changes in leadership, rising operational expenses, and community dissatisfaction. After the leadership transition from Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear to CEO Dan Clancy, the company had already laid off 400 employees.
Amazon also eliminated 180 positions last year when it discontinued the Crown channel, an Amazon-operated Twitch programming initiative, and dissolved its Game Growth group designed to support gaming creators in their marketing efforts.
Amazon acquired Twitch for nearly $1 billion in 2014, primarily known as a popular live-streaming platform for video gamers. While Amazon maintained a mostly hands-off approach to the platform after the acquisition, it did offer various benefits to Prime subscribers, including free games and in-game items on the live-streaming platform.
In other news, Amazon has also announced layoffs affecting hundreds of employees from both Amazon Prime and MGM studios.
Ragul Thangavel
With over nine years of diverse professional experience, Ragul has made significant contributions across various domains, including Media Operations, OTT Technologies, Video Production, Ecommerce, and Social Media.
Holding an Engineering degree, Ragul's career took an unconventional turn when he discovered his passion for writing, leading him to begin his journey as a content writer.
His career has been exclusively dedicated to the growth and development of startups, where he has played a pivotal role. His unique blend of technical knowledge and creative prowess has enabled him to drive innovation and success in every venture he has been a part of.
