Sonos to Lay Off Roughly 130 Employees as Part of its Cost-Cutting Measures

Sonos, a well-known audio technology company, recently shared news regarding cost-saving measures in a filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Unfortunately, one aspect of these measures involves reducing their workforce by approximately 7% through staff layoffs. Alongside this, Sonos intends to optimize its real estate holdings to enhance operational efficiency.

Sonos Layoff in 2023

As per a report from Seeking Alpha, Sonos submitted an 8-K report outlining these cost-saving initiatives. The company aims to strike a balance by right-sizing its cost base while continuing to invest in its product roadmap. In addition to reducing its real estate footprint, Sonos plans to reassess certain program expenditures to achieve these objectives.

To implement these changes, Sonos anticipates expenditures ranging between $11 and $14 million. Out of this amount, $9 to $11 million will be allocated to employee severance packages and benefits. With Sonos currently employing around 1,844 individuals, the projected 7% reduction would, unfortunately, result in the loss of approximately 130 positions.

"In the face of continued headwinds, we have had to make some hard choices, including eliminating some positions and reevaluating program spend," Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said in a report by CNBC.

The wireless speaker company saw a nearly 1% decrease in its shares in premarket trading.

Sonos Amid Tight Competition

Sonos faces notable challenges due to unfavorable macroeconomic conditions and increased competition from industry giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon. However, Sonos has played a pivotal role in pioneering smart speaker innovation, which has subsequently been adopted by other major players in the market.

While expressing empathy for the affected employees, it is worth mentioning that Sonos recently achieved a positive outcome in their infringement lawsuit against Google, resulting in a settlement of $32.5 million. This legal victory may have helped mitigate the extent of the layoffs that would have otherwise taken place.

Tech Firm Layoffs Are Everywhere

Aside from Sonos, Tyson Foods has reportedly axed nearly 230 employees. Back in April, the company managed to slash 10% of the total corporate jobs while it reduced 15% of employees under senior leadership positions, according to Forbes.

Another tech company, Grubhub, also joined the tech layoff trend as it parted ways with nearly 400 of its 2,800 staff. CEO Howard Migdal, who is quite new to his position, highlighted that the operating costs of the company are growing, and that's why there's a need to resort to cost-cutting solutions.

Earlier this month, about 70% of the total employees at Haven Technologies ended their tenure following the latest decision about the layoff. The insurance software giant said in an interview with Forbes that it was a part of the company's plans to "reorganize" and reposition the company to be more "customer-centric."

More news about tech layoffs is viewable here.