​Spotify to layoff 1,500 staff in order to “cut costs”

Spotify is set to axe around 1,500 jobs globally in order to “cut costs”, the streaming platform’s CEO, Daniel Ek, has said.

Ek said that he made the “difficult decision” to cut job posts across the world with economic growth slowing, which would result in the loss of 17% of Spotify’s staff.

Spotify, which employs around 9,300 people globally and around 881 people in the UK, has a market cap of $35.25 billion as of December 2023, according to Companies Market Cap.

Read this next: Spotify will end service in Uruguay due to bill requiring fair pay for artists

“Considering the gap between our financial goal state and our current operational costs, I decided that a substantial action to right-size our costs was the best option to accomplish our objectives,” Ek said.

“While I am convinced this is the right action for our company, I also understand it will be incredibly painful for our team. To be blunt, many smart, talented and hard-working people will be departing us.”

It’s currently unclear how many staff members will be laid off in the UK, although the company’s 17% staff cut would imply almost 150 of the UK’s 881 jobs could be axed.

Read this next: Spotify will reportedly start paying less royalties to less popular artists

Jobs are due to be cut in January. Following the announcement, Ek has said that the business will build “even stronger” in 2024 as a result of the cuts.

Spotify currently has more than 600 million users, up 345 million from the end of 2020. A new quarterly report revealed profits of around £55 million for three months to September thanks to a recent hike in premium prices in the US.

The latest layoff announcement isn’t the first from Spotify this year - in January, the company announced that it would axe 600 roles, and a further 200 in June.

Earlier this month, Spotify confirmed that it will end its service in Uruguay after the country's Parliament approved an amendment to its copyright law that would require "equitable remuneration" for artists.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter