In 2023, Spotify turned a ton of their employees into former employees via layoffs that impacted about 2,300 people. The biggest of those cuts was a round of layoffs that was announced in December, which left 1,500 folks without jobs. It turns out that getting rid of that many people had a significant impact on the company’s day-to-day, more so than they expected.
As Business Insider reports, per a transcript, Ek said in an earnings call on April 23, “Although there’s no question that it was the right strategic decision, it did disrupt our day-to-day operations more than we anticipate. It took us some time to find our footing, but more than four months into this transition, I think we’re back on track. I expect to continue improving on our execution throughout the year, getting us to an even better place than we’ve ever been.”
Per Business Insider’s report, Spotify reported a 2024 first-quarter profit of $210 million, compared to a loss of about $241 million in the same period of 2023.
Elsewhere, Ek said, “Next year, our focus may return to top-of-the-funnel user growth, but in the near-term, monetization remains our top priority. Bottom-line, we are really good at pivoting our attention when it makes sense. When I say pivot, I really mean making tweaks that will get us to an even better outcome. And because of our ability to do this, I have no doubt that we will be able to recapture top-of-the-funnel growth over time as it becomes more of a focus area for the team.”
(Insider defines “top of the funnel” as referring to “the marketing activities carried out to create awareness about a brand or product.”)