The Swedish audio giant also killed off and absorbed the podcast companies it bought for nearly $400 million in 2019 (the podcast studios Gimlet and Parcast, and the hosting platform Anchor). The company is now almost a third (27.5 percent) smaller than the 8,300-plus workforce it was only a year ago. Spotify went through three separate layoffs this year, laying off 2,300 people in total, including a sizable chunk of Spotify’s podcast workforce and executives.
There were a staggering number of layoffs in podcasting and the audio world at large this year, hitting every entity from public radio to subscription-based outlets to corporate behemoths.
And although 2024’s outlook still isn’t entirely certain, it’s pretty obvious that the golden years are over.
