According to Bloomberg, Amazon’s Twitch streaming platform is set to cut around 35% of its workforce, approximately 500 employees, according to sources familiar with the plans. This potential move comes amid ongoing concerns about profitability and follows an exodus of executives in recent months. Bloomberg states that Twitch declined to comment officially and disclosed that the announcement could come on Wednesday.
The planned layoffs stem from a confluence of factors. Running a platform hosting 1.8 billion hours of monthly live video content proves costly, even with Amazon’s infrastructure supporting it. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy previously cited prohibitively high costs in South Korea as justification for closing operations there.
Despite increased focus on advertising revenue, Twitch remains unprofitable nearly a decade after Amazon’s acquisition, according to anonymous sources. The company also lost many key employees, including its chief revenue officer, which added to the pressure on the company.
Since March 2023, Chief Executive Officer Dan Clancy has actively engaged with gaming personalities to improve relations after initial friction surrounding Twitch’s advertising approach. This was ultimately reworked following criticism. Streamers generally appreciated Clancy’s efforts to address their concerns after years of feeling out of touch with the platform.
Despite Clancy’s efforts, stemming losses has proven challenging. Two rounds of layoffs in 2023 resulted in over 400 job cuts, reflecting broader workforce reductions across Amazon. The online retail giant initiated its largest-ever corporate job cuts in 2022, exceeding 27,000 positions across the company. October 2023 saw further cuts within its music division, encompassing both the streaming platform and digital music storefront.
