Patreon is laying off 80 employees again, 17% of wages, due to the current situation. I hope this helps the company get through this turmoil.
Patreon, a platform that helps creators make more money from their creations, has laid off 80 employees, or about 17% of its payroll, amid a difficult economy and recession fears.
Patreon lays off 80 employees, 17% of wages
The company is closing its Berlin office, which had sales and marketing staff. Patreon centralizes these operations in the US. The Dublin office is also closing its doors, and Patreon will offer nine engineers the opportunity to travel to work in the United States to pool resources. The office in Porto, Portugal will remain open to support European creators and users.
Four teams were affected by these layoffs – Going to Market, Operations, Finance and People, CEO Jack Conte explained in a letter to employees. Patreon will provide affected employees with at least three months’ wages, and those who live in the United States will receive COBRA health insurance before the end of the year. The company will also provide them with resources to help them find a new job and will give them a one-year period to revoke their stock options.
Once again, due to the current situation
Last week, Patreon fired five members of its security team for various reasons. Jack Conte explained that this is “a long-term strategy to further share security responsibilities among our engineering team, bring in new areas of expertise within the company, and continue our partnerships with outside experts.”At the same time, he specified that the company will increase its investment in security.
Jack Conte also wrote that these layoffs are part of a restructuring that will see Patreon invest more resources in its product, engineering and design departments. However, the company is reducing its recruitment and the scale of its operations.
I hope this helps the company get through this turmoil.
“I am more confident than ever that the world needs a better economic system for creatives, and Patreon will continue to help build that system for creators for decades to come,” the CEO said. “However, the pandemic has resulted in a lot of volatility, starting with a rapid acceleration during the Covid-19 lockdown. In response, we have put together an operating plan to support this great growth, but as the world has begun to recover from this pandemic and is facing a broad economic downturn, this plan is no longer the right path for Patreon.”
This is just the latest wave of layoffs in a long list of technology companies. Apple, Google, Meta, Peloton, Netflix, Snap, PayPal, Unity, and many others have taken pay cuts and/or hired employees in recent months.