Photo Credit: SiriusXM
SiriusXM makes a new round of layoffs this week after cutting about 100 jobs in January. The number of affected employees this round was undisclosed.
The layoffs took place on Monday, according to a company spokesperson. They affected the operations department, mostly the product and technology group. These layoffs are part of SiriusXM’s broader strategic focus announced late last year.
The news comes just a couple months after SiriusXM eliminated approximately 100 jobs in January, or less than 2% of its workforce. The company has undergone several changes over the past few months, most recently appointing executive Scott Walker as its Chief Advertising Revenue Officer. Walker replaced John Trimble, who is retiring after 16 years with SiriusXM.
Meanwhile, SiriusXM parted from its parent company, Liberty Media, in September. Revenues were down by 3% last year, to around $8.7 billion; about 20% of that revenue ($1.8 billion) came from advertising, while the bulk of its sales came from subscriptions. The company has around 33 million subscribers, but it lost around 296,000 just last year.
Already in cost-cutting mode, the company’s stock (SIRI) took an 8.6% dive on Tuesday, blamed on the recent reduction in ad spending. “Right now, we’re a little concerned,” admitted CFO Tom Barry. Since advertising brought in 20% of SiriusXM’s revenue last year, such a dramatic dip signals potential trouble for the company’s ad sales.
No headcount numbers were disclosed as to the latest round of layoffs, but it follows a reduction of 100 employees at the beginning of the year. The company is still restructuring since its spinoff from Liberty Media, but that dip in nearly 300K subscribers since last year doesn’t bode well.
That’s on top of the failed streaming app SiriusXM launched for $9.99 a month; the company quickly refocused on their car-based users when the mobile app failed to pick up any traction. The company is finding it difficult to diversify, and whether it will be able to stabilize its ad business will have a massive impact on whether SiriusXM will be able to find opportunities for growth.
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