Short messaging service Twitter has been in the new recently, with rumors of possible acquisition by Disney, Alphabet, or Salesforce. (None have made an offer.) Now comes a Bloomberg report that we’ll see the company layoff around 300 people, as soon as this week.
Citing “sources familiar with the matter,” today’s report says that Twitter is planning to cut about 8 percent of its workforce, which is around 300 people. While these plans are still “fluid and the number could change,” Jack Dorsey cut 8 percent of Twitter’s workforce last year when he took over as chief executive officer, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility
While Disney, Alphabet, and Salesforce were all rumored to be sniffing around Twitter as a possible acquisition, all three firms have bowed out of the dance, leaving Twitter alone on the dance floor. Apple was rumored to be considering cutting in, but nothing ever came of that rumor.
Twitter has struggled in recent years, failing to produce a net profit in any of its 11 quarters as a public company. While the service boasts over 313 monthly users, the company has been unable to do a good job of monetizing their user base, even as Instagram and Snapchat have begun outpacing the service in user growth.
Twitter is planning on reporting its earnings on Thursday, at the somewhat odd time of 4AM Pacific/7AM Eastern. A conference call is due to follow soon after, at 5AM Pacific/8AM Eastern time. The odd timing indicates Twitter may announce the layoffs during the earnings call, but the company claims they merely wish to avoid conflict with other companies announcements that same day. (Apple has a media event scheduled for Thursday, where they are expected to announce new Mac models.)
