Spotify to trim 6 percent of workforce, content head to depart

Music streaming firm Spotify said on Monday it plans to cut 6% of its workforce, or roughly 600 jobs, adding to a glut of layoffs in the technology sector as companies prepare for a possible recession.

The company also said its chief content and advertising business officer, Dawn Ostroff, will depart as part of a broader reorganization.

Spotify, which had about 9,800 full-time employees as of Sept. 30, said it expects to incur about 35 million euros ($38.06 million) to 45 million euros in severance-related charges.

Spotify's move comes at a time when tech companies are facing a demand downturn after two years of pandemic-driven growth during which they had hired aggressively. That has led the likes of Meta Platforms Inc to Microsoft Corp to shed thousands of jobs.

Sweden-based Spotify has seen advertisers pull back on spending, mirroring a trend seen at Meta and Google parent Alphabet Inc, as rapid interest rate hikes and the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war pressure the economy.

The company had said in October that it would slow down hiring for the rest of the year and into 2023.