Jack Dorsey has said there could be another round of layoffs for staff at music streaming app Tidal.
The CEO of Block, which owns the music streaming platform, said Tidal needs to operate “like a startup again” in a memo to staff Wednesday morning seen by Fortune. . As a result, organizations across the company need to operate with “much smaller teams,” Dorsey said.
“Therefore, we will be parting ways with many people on our team,” Dorsey explained in the memo. “We are leading engineering and design, and intend to completely eliminate product management and product marketing functions. We are reducing the size of our design team and the fundamental roles that support TIDAL, and our leadership will We will be looking at engineering reductions in the coming weeks as we gain more clarity.”
Mr. Dorsey did not say how many people would be affected by the layoffs, but company insiders estimate that up to 100 employees could be laid off, including Tidal employees. This corresponds to approximately one-fourth of the total.
This is the second mass layoff in less than a year. The streamer cut 10% of its workforce in December 2023. And in July, Fortune reported that Mr. Dorsey told Block staff to prepare for a company-wide reorganization to return Block to “the state it was in when it started.” time.
Block acquired a majority stake in Tidal in 2021 for approximately $300 million. The streaming music service was founded by Jay-Z, but has struggled to gain traction amid competition from Spotify and Apple Music. According to Reuters, in 2023 a judge dismissed a shareholder lawsuit against Block over the deal, which he said was “by all accounts a terrible business decision.”
A Tidal spokesperson said in a statement to Fortune: “To focus on serving artists in the most meaningful way, we have made internal changes to the TIDAL team, including the elimination of several roles across our business and design teams. We’re going to scale back, focus on less, and take a relentless approach to product development.”
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