Summary
In an unexpected announcement, social platformDiscordhas announced that it will be laying off roughly 17 percent of its current staff to counteract inefficient growth. With other technology giants likeTwitch laying off even more employees, audiences are growing increasingly concerned about the future of many online platforms.
Serving as one of the top social communication services, Discord allows users to send text and audio messages, form servers for dedicated communities, and hold voice and video calls for business and personal use. The platform became popular among content creators and fans ofonline multiplayer video games, with Discord’s biggest growth arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, much of that growth is due to be scaled back with a massive round of layoffs at Discord.
As reported byThe Verge, CEO Jason Citron has announced that Discord will be losing 17 percent of its staff, with 170 people across multiple departments getting laid off. Discord has always been a free-to-use platform, though it does offer Discord Nitro - a paid version of the service that provides extra benefits. However, Discord has yet to produce a profitable business model, and this lack of profitability was noted in Citron’s layoff announcement. Citron pinpointed the expedited growth of Discord since 2020 as a cause of the workforce losing sustainability and efficiency, thus the company has made the decision to trim back staffing and rework its functionality. While the platform has tried to draw in users by offeringXbox streaming via Discordand other useful features, the company has yet to turn enough profit to support itself.
Audiences Remain Critical of Continued Layoffs
Last year was tumultuous for many in the technology and video game industries, and 2024 appears to be continuing the unfortunate trend of massive layoffs. While former employees struggle to find new work in uncertain times, audiences are voicing their concerns about these industries as a whole. Many remain speculative if corporate expenses are truly to blame or if exponential growth models are destined to hinder companies' success. CEOs frequently refer to “staying lean” and “optimizing efficiency” as key reasons for layoffs, yet fans have pointed out some of the record profits boasted by these organizations. American conglomerateAmazon announced layoffs back in November, just two months after recording a 77 percent increase in profits from 2022. With audiences keeping a critical eye on AAA names across industries, many are unsure of the long-term impact of these layoffs at Discord and other companies.
This year has been off to a rocky start for many, and audiences have not been shy about voicing their opinions regarding layoffs and shutdowns. With companies likeUnity issuing yet another round of layoffs, many are questioning at what point consumers will feel the impact of these cutbacks.Discordhas assured fans that its layoffs are for the better, but only time will tell if the move will prove fruitful or fateful for the social platform.
