In an announcement today, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirmed the layoff of over 500 employees, representing around 35% of the company’s workforce. This marks Twitch’s third round of job cuts in less than a year, following smaller reductions in March and October 2023.
Clancy, in a message to Twitch employees, attributed the decision to the need to “rightsize” the company and ensure its long-term sustainability. He acknowledged that Twitch’s organization had previously been sized based on optimistic projections of future growth rather than reflecting the current state of the business.
In other words, they had been hiring for what they thought they needed if everything went well, not for how the business was doing. Clancy emphasized Twitch’s commitment to serving its streamers and fostering its community, but you’d expect that in this kind of letter. He announced a planned stream on Thursday, January 11th, to address the community’s concerns directly.
“I want to close with my sincerest apology to everyone who is leaving Twitch. You are some of the most talented, committed, and creative people I have ever worked with. Thank you for everything you’ve done to help us build Twitch and foster our community.”
Dan Clancy
Clancy’s message promised communication with affected employees, with details on severance packages and support services provided soon after. Those who were unaffected would also get e-mails saying their jobs were safe.
Those affected were told minutes after the letter went out. If they are in the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, or Singapore, then they have days before they need to leave. Unfortunately, those outside will be disconnected from Slack at 1 pm their time.
The specific reasons behind Twitch’s financial challenges remain unclear, though the message from Clancy points to a need for increased efficiency and a more sustainable business model. From what I see, they are facing YouTube, Kick, Facebook, and many other streaming services, and those who leave don’t give the best review of Twitch.
Messages involving layoffs are always hard to read, but one that affects this many people is pretty significant. It’s hard to imagine how it must feel to wait for an e-mail and then read it to find out the status of your job, but there’s no better way to have done this. At least people got immediate answers and didn’t have to wait long. It’s a difficult part of this business to deal with things like this, but we hope those affected can rebuild.
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