Soundcloud announces lay-offs affecting ‘up to 20%’ of workforce

Soundcloud has announced lay-offs that will affect ‘up to 20%’ of its workforce, according to an internal memo obtained by Billboard.

SoundCloud CEO Michael Weissman reportedly sent out a staff email announcing the cuts on Wednesday (3rd August). “We will be making reductions to our global team that will impact up to 20% of our company,” he wrote. “Making changes that affect people is incredibly hard. But it is one that is necessary given the challenging economic climate and financial market headwinds.”

He continued: “Today’s change positions SoundCloud for the long run and puts us on a path to sustained profitability. We have already begun to make prudent financial decisions across the company and that now extends to a reduction to our team.”

US and UK employees potentially affected by the layoffs “will be notified over the next few days,” according to Weissman’s memo. SoundCloud is also planning to host an all-hands meeting this week “to discuss these changes in more detail.”old an all-hands meeting later this week.

The news follows the announcement of SoundCloud’s new fan-powered royalties system, which was launched in March 2021. Warner Music Group recently became the first major label to adopt the new payout system.