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Layoffs have hit Spotify’s podcast division.
About 5% of the division, meaning roughly 15 employees, were laid off this week, a source told Front Office Sports. The cuts come as Spotify is focusing on bolstering video production, and approximately the same number of jobs are expected to be added there.
Two employees at The Ringer, the multiplatform outlet that Bill Simmons founded in 2016 and Spotify acquired in 2020, announced they had been laid off.
Claire McNear, who was an early hire at the outlet, wrote on X/Twitter: “time for an unfortunate media rite of passage: after 9 years at The Ringer, I was laid off this week. I’m gutted to leave, but grateful for my time there, the many wonderful folks I worked with over the years, and all the stories I got to tell.”
Writer and audio producer Jonathan Kermah, who joined The Ringer in 2020, also said he was among the cuts. “It hurts me to say that yesterday I was laid off from the Ringer after five years with the company. At 21 years old I was blessed with the opportunity to be an intern at my favorite website in the world doing work that I love. Who knew that it would turn into a five year journey,” Kermah wrote on X/Twitter.
“Spotify does not comment on staffing changes,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The Ringer recently added video shows hosted by Zach Lowe and Amy Poehler.
