Spotify announced on Monday that it would reduce its workforce by approximately 17% to cut costs amid “dramatically” slower economic growth. According to the company, approximately 1,500 people will be laid off.
In the midst of this, an engineer who had been laid off by the company shared his heartbreaking story on X, formerly Twitter. Freddie Carthy joined the music streaming company after Elon Musk took over Twitter and laid off thousands. He is now out of work again, just in time for the holiday season.
“I was shocked to learn that I had been affected by the Spotify layoffs. I’m not sure what to feel right now. Twitter shitted the bed a year ago, and I quit right before the holidays.
“One year later, I’m still unemployed before the holidays…,” he wrote on the microblogging platform.
His post has received a lot of attention from social media users since it was shared.
“I’m sorry, man. This is heavy, especially so close to the holidays. “I hope you find something soon,” one user said.
“Same. 7 months pregnant and laid off before the holidays, with no maternity leave guaranteed. “I’m devastated,” said one.
“Freddie Carthy,” another person added. I sincerely apologize. You’re an incredible human being and engineer. I’ll do my best to assist in any way I can!”
“Hopefully something comes your way, and hopefully that something is you taking your skills and creating something you own, rather than corporate whims.” “Best wishes,” said a fourth person.
“You’ll get a better job.” “The market is much better than it was a year ago,” said one user.
Meanwhile, the company was the latest in a string of layoffs announced in the tech industry, with tens of thousands of jobs lost as a result of a surge in demand during the Covid pandemic lockdowns.
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“I understand that given the recent positive earnings report and our performance, a reduction of this size will feel surprisingly large for many,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote in a letter to employees obtained by AFP.
In 2020 and 2021, he stated, the Swedish company “took advantage of the opportunity presented by lower-cost capital and invested significantly in team expansion, content enhancement, marketing, and new verticals.”
“However, we now find ourselves in a very different environment,” he said, “economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive.”
