Discord is laying off 17% of its workforce, according to CEO Jason Citron, in order to streamline its focus and enhance collaboration for increased organizational agility.
The reductions were disclosed in a company meeting, impacting 170 employees across different departments. This is Discord’s most significant staff cut to date, following a 4% decrease in team size last August.
Challenges following quick expansion
Citron acknowledged in a communication to staff that the team’s rapid expansion in recent years, growing fivefold since 2020, has led to reduced operational efficiency. Despite the absence of significant financial issues, the company has yet to achieve profitability and aims to boost user growth following a surge during the pandemic.
Opening up capital and the considerations involved
Discord, having secured approximately $1 billion in funding, currently holds over $700 million in cash and aims to become profitable within this year.
Despite turning down a $10 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft in 2021, the company is still far from going public. It is currently assessing its choices amidst a challenging landscape in the tech sector, with significant cost reductions reported by Google and Amazon this week.
The Verge provides information.
