Spotify Lays Off 15 Employees, Including Multiple Ringer Staffers

Spotify has laid off about 15 people—approximately 3% of total employees in its podcasts division—a source confirmed to Front Office Sports.

The layoffs included at least two talents at The Ringer, the sports and pop culture platform that Bill Simmons founded in 2016 and sold to Spotify in 2020. 

“Spotify does not comment on staffing shifts,” a spokesperson said in a statement to FOS.

Ringer pop culture writer Miles Surrey announced via social media that he was among the cuts. “It was a rewarding eight and a half years and I’m proud to have literally written the most articles in the site’s history,” Surrey wrote on Twitter/X. “I’d love to keep writing about pop culture elsewhere — drop me a line: msurrey2 at gmail.”

Andrew Gruttadaro, the site’s special projects lead, said he was let go after nine years. “It’s impossible to sum up nine years in a tweet but: I worked on so many things—profiles, theme weeks, special projects—that I am incredibly proud of,” Gruttadaro tweeted.

A source at Spotify characterized the layoffs as not about cost cuts, but rather streamlining alignment between teams and focusing on areas like video. The decision follows a round of layoffs last June that also affected about 15 employees in the podcasting division.

Variety, which first reported on the layoffs, said that The Ringer’s New York sports-focused podcast, New York, New York With John Jastremski, is coming to an end. A source told FOS that Jastremski’s contract at The Ringer is expiring and will not be renewed. He will host his own podcast as he figures out next steps. Jastremski could not be immediately reached for comment.

Last week, Chicago podcaster Jason Goff announced that The Full Go Podcast had reached the end of its road.