June 5 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) said on Monday it would cut 200 jobs from its podcast unit in its second round of layoffs, as the company restructures the business after years of heavy investment.
Spotify had spent aggressively to build up its podcast business in recent years, hoping the higher engagement levels offered by the format will bring in more advertisers.
In response, Spotify cut 6% of its workforce earlier in 2023 and announced the departure of Dawn Ostroff, who helped shape its podcast business and guided it through controversies such as the backlash around Joe Rogan's show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19.
Sahar Elhabashi, who heads the podcast business, said on Monday that the company has "made the difficult but necessary decision to make a strategic realignment."
Spotify also said it will merge its Parcast and Gimlet studios into a single Spotify Studios division, which will produce Spotify originals.
Persons:
Dawn Ostroff, Joe Rogan's, Sahar Elhabashi, Elhabashi, Tiyashi Datta, Vinay Dwivedi, Shweta Agarwal
Organizations:
Spotify Technology SA, Spotify, Spotify Studios, Thomson
Locations:
Sweden, Bengaluru