San Francisco, November 18: Streaming company Roku has announced that it is laying off 200 US employees, or roughly 7 per cent of its workforce.
According to the company, the cuts aim to reduce its "headcount expenses" by around 5 per cent because it is trying to spend less on operations in the face of "current economic conditions" in the advertising and streaming industry, reports The Verge. Brainly Layoffs: Online Learning Platform Fires Nearly All From India Team As Not Able To Maintain Some of Roles.
However, the 200 job cuts are a far greater reduction than the streaming company had expected when it released its Q3 earnings report just over two weeks ago. As stated in its shareholder letter, the employees had grown significantly since 2021 because Roku's leadership "believed that the economy was emerging out of pandemic-related disruptions". Meta Layoffs: Facebook Parent Company Terminates Over 11,000 Employees, Halts Hiring Days After Mass Sackings by Twitter.
Therefore, the suggested solution was a slowdown in hiring rather than layoffs. "In Q2, the company said that it was selling fewer streaming boxes, which impacts its revenue in more ways than one," the earnings report mentioned. Since then, the company had increased the range of services it provides, by focusing on original content and introducing a range of smart home products.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 18, 2022 12:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).