Spotify, the Swedish music streaming service listed in the US, is cutting 6 per cent of its workforce, or about 600 employees, as part of efforts to increase efficiencies in a “challenging macro environment”, it said on Monday.
The company was forced to take the “difficult” decision as despite efforts to rein in soaring costs, operational expenditure outpaced its revenue growth by two times in 2022, chief executive Daniel Ek said in a note to employees.
“In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth,” he said.
“That would have been unsustainable long-term in any climate, but with a challenging macro environment, it would be even more difficult to close the gap.”
Mr Ek also confirmed that chief content officer Dawn Ostroff will be leaving the company.
The layoffs at the company follow the firing of 38 staff from Spotify's Gimlet Media and Parcast podcast studios in October, Bloomberg reported.
Spotify had about 9,800 employees at the end of its third quarter in 2022. The company reported a net loss of €166 million ($181 million) in the third quarter, compared with a €2 million profit in the same period of 2021, with sales increasing 21 per cent to €3.04 billion.
In its last regulatory filing the company said the loss was due to higher personnel costs after it boosted its global advertisement sales team, as well as from investment and acquisitions, higher advertising costs and currency fluctuations.
“Many of our new products and improvements to our platform require large investments and involve substantial time and risks to develop and launch,” the company said in its third-quarter regulatory filing.
“Some of these products may not be well received or may take a long time for users to adopt.”
Spotify's share price is up about 20 per cent since the start of this year, but down more than 49 per cent over the past year, and trading at $97.91.
The company operates in 183 countries and territories, with 456 million monthly active users at the end of September.
Spotify's layoffs mirror those of other companies in the technology sector, including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Google's parent Alphabet that have cut thousands of jobs after boosting hiring at the height of the Covid pandemic, amid rising interest rates and growing fears of a recession in the world's largest economy.
While overall, companies in the US let go of 363,824 jobs in 2022, 13 per cent more than 2021, the technology sector was the leading job-cutting industry last year, according Chicago-based global employment company Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
A total of 97,171 jobs were cut in the technology sector last year, a 649 per cent increase from firings in the industry in 2021 — the highest since the so-called dot-com crash that started in 2000, according to a survey by the company.
Last week, Microsoft said it is laying off 10,000 of its 221,000 employees to adjust to changing macroeconomics and to cut overall costs at the technology company.
Earlier this month, the world’s biggest e-commerce company, Amazon, said it is laying off more than 18,000 workers, about 6 per cent of its workforce, amid concerns about the US economy and fears of a global slowdown mount.
Output in the US, the world's biggest economy, is forecast to fall to 0.5 per cent this year — 1.9 percentage points below previous forecasts and the weakest performance outside of official recessions since 1970, according to World Bank estimates.
Twitter's full-time headcount has reportedly been reduced to about 1,300 active employees, including less than 550 full-time engineers, compared with about 7,500 positions prior to the company being acquired by Elon Musk last year, CNBC reported, citing internal company records.
In November, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg announced the company would layoff 11,000 staff, or 13 per cent of the total workforce, amid declining revenue.
Earlier this month in an interview with the US news channel CBS, the International Monetary Fund's managing director Kristalina Georgieva warned that a third of the world's economies may slide into a recession in 2023.
The global economy faces “a tough year, tougher than the year we leave behind”, she said.
“Why? Because the three big economies — US, EU, China — are all slowing down simultaneously.”
In October, the IMF cut its global economic growth forecast to 2.7 per cent this year, 0.2 percentage points lower than its July forecast.
It had also warned of a 25 per cent probability that output could fall below 2 per cent in 2023, the weakest growth profile since 2001 except for the 2008 global financial crisis and the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The fund will release an update to its global economic outlook next week.
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Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
The%20specs
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Teams
India (playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
South Africa (squad): Faf du Plessis (c), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
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Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
ANALYSTS’ TOP PICKS OF SAUDI BANKS IN 2019
Analyst: Aqib Mehboob of Saudi Fransi Capital
Top pick: National Commercial Bank
Reason: It will be at the forefront of project financing for government-led projects
Analyst: Shabbir Malik of EFG-Hermes
Top pick: Al Rajhi Bank
Reason: Defensive balance sheet, well positioned in retail segment and positively geared for rising rates
Analyst: Chiradeep Ghosh of Sico Bank
Top pick: Arab National Bank
Reason: Attractive valuation and good growth potential in terms of both balance sheet and dividends
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
