Roku isn’t laying off staff to turn its fortunes around. The streaming company also warns that he will lay off 200 employees, or about 6% of the current headcount. We also plan to close or sublease unused offices. Job cuts will help the company keep costs down and focus on projects with a “higher return on investment,” Roku said.
The device and platform creators expect to pay $30 million to $35 million to handle job cuts and building closures. Most of these costs must be paid by the first quarter or the end of this month. The layoffs should be completed by the end of Roku’s second quarter, or by June.
Roku announced in November that it would cut 200 jobs depending on rough “economic conditions.” Roku, which expects revenue to decline year-over-year, was already suffering from slowing revenue growth in the second half of 2022. Like rival Internet video rivals Disney and Netflix, Roku grapples with a combination of looming recession and demise. A pandemic-era boom when many people stayed home and watched TV. The company was not helped by the failure of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month – it said it could have lost more than 25% of its cash if regulators did not step in to protect deposits.
Roku isn’t the only big tech company to lay off employees this year. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft have all cut their workforces significantly. However, Roku’s cutback comes at a crucial time. Having just released its first home-built TV, it faces stiff competition for hardware and services from the likes of Amazon, Apple, and Google. Roku is often forced to invest heavily in technology to keep up with wealthy challengers.
