- Spotify CEO Daniel Ek blamed 1,500 job cuts on too much “work around the work” bloating operations.
- Axing the CFO too, Ek wants more efficiency despite growth to align costs with investors.
- The ruthless move matches US attitudes about cutting “fake work” to boost margins.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek did not mince words when announcing 1,500 job cuts this week, amounting to 17% of the company’s staff.
He suggested too many employees were doing “work around the work” instead of focusing on the company’s core mission.
The Memo
In an internal memo, Ek argued Spotify had moved away from its “core principle of resourcefulness” and become less efficient even as it grew.
He complained of too many support staff “contributing to opportunities with real impact.”
The CFO Gets Cut
The CEO also axed CFO Paul Vogel, saying the company needed someone to align costs more closely to investor expectations.
The ruthless language echoes attitudes in Silicon Valley, where investors pushed companies to cut “fake work” and streamline bloated operations this year.
Profits Matter Most
With newer initiatives around podcasts proving costly, Ek looks to be responding to shareholder pressure to drill down on Spotify’s profitable basics in 2023.
The shakeup dismantles assumptions that European tech execs handle job cuts more delicately than their American peers.
For Spotify employees, it may feel less like unwrapping year-end presents and more like getting coal in their stockings.
