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Spotify Adds To Big Tech Layoffs With Highest Job Cuts Since 2000

The popular music streaming company has seen its share price fall by nearly half over the past 12 months.

Published

2 years ago

January 24, 2023

Nour Nasir

spotify adds to big tech layoffs with highest job cuts since 2000

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Swedish music streaming giant, Spotify, is set to cut 6% of its entire workforce — a move which will amount to laying off around 600 employees.

The cuts come as part of efforts to increase efficiencies in a “challenging macro environment”, the tech company announced on Monday, January 23rd. Spotify reported net losses of $181 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared with a $2 million profit the year before, with share prices falling by a monumental 49% in a single year.

Spotify was forced to take the decision after soaring costs and growing operational expenditure began to rapidly outpace revenue generation, and followed the firing of 38 staff from Gimlet Media and Parcast podcast studios in October, which are also owned by the Swedish streaming service.

“In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth,” admitted chief executive Daniel Ek. “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”.

Also Read: The Best Video Streaming Services In The Middle East

Ek went on to confirm that chief content officer Dawn Ostroff would also be leaving the company, whose workforce numbered 9,800 employees in mid-2022.

A total of 97,171 jobs were axed in the technology sector in 2022, a 649% increase over 2021 and the highest since the fateful dot-com crash of the early 2000s. Spotify’s layoffs mirror those of other corporations in the technology sector, including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google’s Alphabet. Part of those cuts can be explained by the extra hires required during the height of the Covid pandemic, though rising interest rates and growing fears of a recession are also influencing the somber atmosphere.

News

Saudi EV Adoption Accelerates With BYD Expansion & Tesla Launch

Saudi Arabia’s EV market is gaining momentum as BYD plans major showroom growth and Tesla establishes a foothold in Riyadh.

Published

2 days ago

July 16, 2025

Nour Nasir

saudi ev adoption accelerates with byd expansion and tesla launch

Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to become a regional hub for electric mobility are drawing greater investment from global automakers. As part of Vision 2030, the Kingdom is targeting 30% electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the capital, Riyadh, by the end of the decade — an objective that’s now shaping the strategic interests of international EV brands.

Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning a substantial thrust into the Saudi market, building on its current footprint of three showrooms. According to Jerome Saigot, BYD’s managing director in the Kingdom, the company aims to open 10 showrooms by the end of 2026.

“Saudi Arabia is a complex market. You need to go fast. You need to think big,” Saigot recently told reporters. “We are not here to stay at 5,000 or 10,000 cars a year”.

The announcement follows Tesla’s entry into the Saudi EV space, with the US automaker opening its first showroom in Riyadh in April. Tesla joins early players like BYD and Geely in what remains a nascent but strategically important segment for the Kingdom.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also ramped up its electric mobility agenda. Its efforts include major investments in Lucid Motors, the creation of local EV brand Ceer, and support for the rollout of national charging infrastructure.

Also Read: Twitch Launches Arabic Right-To-Left Interface For Web & Mobile

However, electric vehicles still only account for just over 1% of total car sales in Saudi Arabia, according to data from PwC cited by Bloomberg. Key challenges include high upfront costs, limited public charging access, and the added complexity of operating in extreme heat conditions.

In spite of those hurdles, Saigot views Tesla’s entry as a net positive. “The more Tesla communicates on marketing, the better it is for us,” he said. Saigot joined BYD in April, having previously held executive roles at Nissan and Great Wall Motor.

With multiple brands scaling up activity in parallel — and government-backed infrastructure investment underway — Saudi Arabia’s EV sector appears set for rapid acceleration over the next few years.