Discord cuts 17% of workers in latest tech layoffs
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Roughly 170 jobs will be affected by the layoffs at the the social chat and messaging start-up beloved by gamers.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SAN FRANCISCO – Discord, the social chat and messaging start-up beloved by gamers, told employees on Jan 11 that it would cut 17 per cent of its staff, adding to the string of recent job reductions by tech firms.
Roughly 170 jobs will be affected by the layoffs, according to an internal memo sent by Mr Jason Citron, Discord’s founder and chief executive, which was seen by The New York Times.
“We have to face some hard truths,” Mr Citron wrote. “We are increasingly clear on the need to sharpen our focus and improve the way we work together to bring more agility to our organisation.”
Discord confirmed the cuts. The layoffs were reported earlier by The Verge.
Already, cuts in the tech industry in 2024 have included reductions from giants such as Google, Amazon and Meta.
Gaming companies, in particular, have trimmed their ranks; Twitch, an Amazon-owned streaming service that many gamers use, and Unity Software, a video game software provider, cut their workforces in the past week.
On Jan 10, Google also laid off hundreds of workers
Amazon also shed hundreds of workers on Jan 10 Xerox said in January that it would cut 15 per cent of its 23,000-strong staff.
The cuts signal what could be another tough year for the tech industry, after tens of thousands of employees were laid off in 2023 amid challenging economic conditions and a downturn in the digital advertising market.
In his note, Mr Citron said the layoffs were a result of over-hiring and growing too quickly, with Discord having expanded five times its original size since 2020.
As a result, he said, Discord had taken on too many projects and worked less efficiently on them.
His reasoning echoed similar statements in the past from tech CEOs, such as Mr Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Mr Daniel Ek of Spotify, both of whom carried out layoffs over the past two years.
NYTIMES
