Spotify reduces staff by 6%, Dawn Ostroff to leave

Spotify said Monday it is cutting 6% of its staff, following a wave of layoffs at other technology and entertainment companies as they adjust to a challenging economic environment.

As part of the move, the Swedish music streaming giant said the director of content and the commercial director of advertising Dawn Ostroff It is leaving.

A key architect of Spotify’s podcast strategy, Ostroff joined the company as it invested heavily in audio and advertising. acquisition of production companies and doing podcast deals with newscasts and celebrities.

But the company’s aggressive investments in the podcast space have drawn more scrutiny amid a cooling economy.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the layoffs reflected Spotify’s need to be more efficient.

“We still spend too much time synchronizing with slightly different strategies, which slows us down,” Ek wrote in a post. blog post Monday. “And in a challenging economic environment, efficiency becomes more important. So, in an effort to drive greater efficiencies, control costs, and speed decision making, I have decided to restructure our organization.”

The cuts will affect about 600 people, according to a person close to Spotify who declined to be named.

julie mcnamarahead of talk studios, and Max Cutler, head of content and talk creator partnerships, will remain in their roles and the company will continue to invest in original and exclusive podcasts, the person said.

Last year, the company removed 11 podcasts and fired…