Another day, another round of tech company layoffs, with audio product provider Sonos announcing massive cuts in an SEC filing today.
There seems to be no end in sight for the tumult taking over tech in recent months. The industry has suffered data breaches, shifting goals, and ongoing layoffs that have seen more than 100,000 employees without jobs.
There’s now another company to add to the pile, as Sonos announces that it will be laying off a substantial percentage of its workforce.
Sonos Announces Layoffs in SEC Filing
Announced in an SEC filing, Sonos is reportedly planning on laying off as much as 7% of its workforce, which will amount to approximately 130 jobs across the company.
“In the face of continued headwinds, we have had to make some hard choices, including eliminating some positions and reevaluating program spend.” – Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos
Despite the growing trend of layoffs across the industry, this is Sonos’ first round of layoffs during the current recession. However, the company did lay off 12% of its workforce in 2020, when the growing pandemic problem caused such economic turmoil.
How Else Is Sonos Cutting Costs?
Obviously, layoffs are one of the more effective, albeit unfortunate, ways to cut costs at a business. However, Sonos is planning on doing more than that to shore up finances during the recession.
According to the SEC filing, Sonos will also be “reducing its real estate footprint and re-evaluating certain program spend.” What this means exactly is unclear, but it’s safe to say the company is substantially tightening its belt in 2023.
While the overall plan for Sonos is to cut costs in the long run, the SEC filing notes that the company “will incur approximately $11 to $14 million of restructuring and related charges, of which $9 to $11 million is related to employee severance and benefits costs.”
Mass Tech Industry Layoffs
To say the tech industry is having a bad year would be a dire understatement. If you’ve been following the news, Sonos is far from the first company to slash its workforce and it almost certainly won’t be the last. In fact, big companies like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and dozens of others have cut massive percentages of employees, resulting in over 100,000 workers without jobs.
The trend has caused some serious issues for the tech industry as well. The once-trusted industry is eroding faith at quite a clip, with former and current employees reportedly feeling stressed and generally pessimistic about the future.
Outside of the tech industry, though, you’ll find that there is some hope for a more enjoyable work environment. Despite many big tech firms pushing employees back into the office, there are plenty of companies out there offering remote work options, and, even better, some are embracing the 4-day work week to attract top talent.
All this bad news about the tech industry can make it feel like the working world is in trouble. But as long as you’re looking for jobs outside of the tech industry, you should be set up for success in the long run.
