Last August, SoundCloud cut its workforce by 20 percent, citing a “difficult economic climate” for the layoffs. In recent years, it has been a common refrain among companies that are downsizing. companies like Google, Meta, Amazon and more layoffs as restructuring or cost-cutting measures. SoundCloud now says it will cut staff by an additional 8 percent, telling staff the layoff is a “difficult but important decision to ensure the health of our business and ensure SoundCloud remains profitable this year.”
That goal was also factored into the company’s latest round of cuts, with 2022 cuts classified as SoundCloud “on a path to sustainable profitability.” This new “headcount reduction” appears to be the next step in that plan, as sources tell Billboard that the company hopes to be profitable by Q4. SoundCloud management also reportedly said it was courting new investors.
While SoundCloud’s layoffs follow the same dire pattern we’ve seen among various tech brands recently, the company has actually been downsizing slowly over time. In addition to last year’s layoffs, the company cut its workforce by 40 percent back in 2017.
For more details, check out Engadget’s look at the biggest tech cuts of 2023.