Video game streaming platform Twitch is set to cut 500 jobs, around 35% of its workforce. According to Bloomberg, the job cuts became imminent following executive departures and financial concerns.
Twitch layoffs have been ongoing under new CEO Dan Clancy, with 400 cuts in 2023 followed by 180 more after Amazon shut down its Crown channel and Game Growth group.
The streaming platform also recently announced its plans to cease operations in South Korea, a major Esports market globally, citing “prohibitively expensive" network fees. In a blog post regarding the closure announcement acknowledging the company's substantial losses in Korea, Clancy stated that there is no viable path forward for sustainable operations.
A difficult decision
“Unfortunately, we still have work to do to rightsize our company and I regret having to share that we are taking the painful step to reduce our headcount by just over 500 people across Twitch. This will be a very hard day," said Clancy in an announcement. "Our service exists to empower communities to create, together, and every single one of you has played a vital role in fostering our community and furthering that mission."
"I wanted to send a short note to let you know that we’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the size of our workforce today. At this point in time, we are focused on communicating with our employees and providing them with clarity on how this impacts each of them. We greatly value the employees we’re saying goodbye to today as people and professionals and are grateful for all their efforts to support all of you."
"This decision, while incredibly difficult and painful, is necessary to ensure that we can continue to serve our streamers sustainably without impacting their ability to support their careers on Twitch. Part of what makes this so difficult is the passion that so many of you share for the Twitch community, and the hard work you’ve put into serving our streamers." the CEO added.
Despite its widespread popularity - experiencing a surge in users through pandemic lockdowns - Twitch continues to grapple with financial challenges. The platform's emphasis on boosting ad revenue, a source of debate among viewers and streamers, has not yielded success. Bloomberg also reports that almost a decade after Amazon's acquisition, Twitch remains unprofitable.
Twitch witnesses approximately seven million streamers going live each month, attracting around 35 million daily visitors. In 2022, the platform recorded over 1.3 trillion minutes of content watched.
