Sonos, the well-known audio brand, is cutting 200 jobs as part of a company-wide restructuring efforts. CEO Tom Conrad announced the layoffs during an internal call and later followed up with an email to staff, providing further details.
“I’ve made the very difficult decision to eliminate about 200 positions at our company,” Conrad wrote. He recognised the hardship of the layoffs and expressed gratitude to those affected for their contributions. “There’s no way around the fact that this is a terrible outcome,” he said, assuring support for impacted employees in the weeks and months ahead, according to a Moneycontrol report.
In his email to employees, Conrad explained that Sonos is undergoing a restructuring to create “flatter, smaller, and more focused teams.” He acknowledged that the company had become weighed down by excessive layers, which hindered collaboration and decision-making. “We’ve let too many projects run under a cloud of half-commitment. We’re going to fix this too,” he stated.
The email also outlined changes to Sonos’ Product division. Instead of having separate business units for each product category, the company will now organise into distinct groups for Hardware, Software, Design, Quality, and Operations. “With this simpler organisation in place, cross-functional project teams will come together to improve our core experience and deliver new products,” Conrad explained.
Affected employees will receive severance pay based on their tenure. Their RSUs (restricted stock units) will vest through February 15, and those eligible for the quarterly bonus plan may receive a Q1 bonus if earned. In the US, impacted employees will also have healthcare coverage during the severance period.
Conrad encouraged remaining employees to reach out with any concerns, saying, “Feel free to message me on Slack or email anytime.” He also offered his support to laid-off employees, offering to assist with job introductions, as per the report.
Also Read: Google Removes Diversity Hiring Goals; Here’s What The Tech Giant Said
