Spotify has laid off about 3 percent of staff in its podcasting group.
The layoffs Monday impacted 15 positions across The Ringer and Spotify Studios. The changes are being described as improving the unit’s execution and speed, rather than as a cost-cutting matter, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company is expected to continue investing across both Spotify Studios and The Ringer.
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Overall, the goal of the layoffs is to flatten the structure of the unit, and give creative leads more direct control, the source said.
“Spotify does not comment on staffing shifts,” a spokesperson for Spotify said when asked for comment.
As part of the layoffs, the Ringer podcast New York, New York With John Jastremski will be ending. Andrew Gruttadaro, special projects lead at The Ringer, and staff writer Miles Surrey, both wrote on social media that they had been laid off.
“It’s impossible to sum up nine years in a tweet but: I worked on so many things — profiles, theme weeks, special projects—that I am incredibly proud of,” Gruttardo wrote on X.
Spotify has been growing overall user numbers, reporting 751 million monthly active users in its most recent quarter, an increase of 38 million, marking the highest number of net adds in Spotify’s history, and pushing heavily into a video podcasting strategy, including inking a deal with Netflix.
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