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Twitch has announced a second round of layoffs that will impact employees this year as the streaming giant struggles to gain traction.
The Amazon-owned, gaming-focused streaming giant was hit by a round of layoffs in March 2023, affecting about 400 people across the company. This round of layoffs is said to be much smaller and limited to the customer experience organization—Twitch is now outsourcing those roles. The broader cuts at Twitch in March were handed down as part of Amazon’s efforts to reduce its payroll.
“Given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said when announcing those March layoffs.
While no numbers have been shared about the number of employees impacted in this round, several employees have shared they have been warned they are ‘at risk’ for termination. The move comes just a few weeks before TwitchCon is set to kick-off in Las Vegas.
Twitch has been mired in controversy as it seeks to monetize its userbase while competing with TikTok and YouTube Shorts for the younger generation’s attention. In June, Twitch had to walk back controversial changes to its ad policies after it banned streamers from featuring burned-in advertising—a type of advertising that has existed on Twitch since it was called Justin.tv.
Several high profile streamers published statements on social media condemning Twitch’s moves, saying, “The once-unique and admirable vision of a creator-first platform now feels like a fading and distant dream.”
While Twitch retreated from those new branded content guidelines, many creators have picked up shop and re-established themselves in other domains. YouTube Shorts continue to grow at a nice clip in competition with TikTok—but nothing can rival the short-form video giant’s hold on Gen Z’s attention span.
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