Amazon's Twitch To Lay Off 500 Employees: Report

Amazon’s live streaming platform Twitch is reportedly set to lay off 500 employees, constituting 35% of its workforce, according to recent reports. It is being said that an official announcement on these layoffs could be made on Wednesday, January 10. The platform had already cut around 400 employees in 2023 due to concerns over financial losses.

Operated under Amazon for nine years, Twitch has been facing financial challenges, operating at a loss even after this long association. The departure of several high-ranking executives, including the chief product officer, chief customer officer, chief revenue officer, and chief content officer, at the end of 2023 raised further concerns. A spokesperson from Twitch expressed gratitude for their contributions and wished them well in their future endeavours.

Twitch’s struggles extend beyond employee layoffs; in December, the platform announced the closure of its offices in Korea in February, citing prohibitive expenses in the country. Bloomberg’s report indicates that Twitch is currently unable to turn a profit, and executives have noted the increasing costs associated with managing a platform supporting 1.8 billion hours of live content.

Since assuming the role of CEO in March of the previous year, Dan Clancy has been working to mend relationships with gaming celebrities who rely on Twitch for income. The platform faced criticism, particularly regarding its earlier advertising approach, prompting a change in strategies. Clancy revealed in a 2022 blog post that each high-value streamer costs the company around $1,000 per month, emphasizing the expensive nature of delivering high-definition, low-latency, always-available live video globally.

The challenges faced by Twitch highlight the broader complexities of sustaining a live-streaming platform of its scale. The layoffs and office closures come as part of the company’s efforts to address financial losses and adapt to a rapidly changing landscape in the online streaming industry. As Twitch navigates these challenges, the industry will be watching closely to see how it evolves in response to both internal restructuring and external market dynamics.