On Wednesday, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced that the company will slow hiring by 25% in an email to employees. It’s the latest signal that businesses across tech, many of which grew immensely over the early stages of the pandemic, are clipping staff growth as economic uncertainty overlooks. While job growth across the economy has remained strong, there have been several high-profile hiring slowdowns or staff cuts in the tech sector in recent months.
Spotify spokesperson Adam Grossberg pointed to comments from CFO Paul Vogel at the company’s investor day, where he said, “We are clearly aware of the increasing uncertainty regarding the global economy. And while we have yet to see any material impact to our business – we are keeping a close eye on the situation and evaluating our headcount growth in the near term.”
We Are Going to Slow the Pace of Hiring Now, Says CEO Daniel Ek
In the email to employees, CEO Daniel Ek stated that Spotify would “reduce hiring growth by 25%.” But he said the company would “continue to still hire and grow, we are just going to slow that pace and be a bit more prudent with the absolute level of new hires over the next few quarters.” Grossberg declined to detail what the 25% reduction in hiring growth would entail.
The Staff Cut Down is Due to Increasing Uncertainty Regarding the Global Economy
The new development of slow hiring comes shortly after CFO Paul Vogel hinted at Spotify’s investor day earlier in June that the company would be reducing its headcount amid the ongoing economic downturn. “We are clearly aware of the increasing uncertainty regarding the global economy. And while we have yet to see any material impact to our business, we are keeping a close eye on the situation and evaluating our headcount growth in the near term,” Vogel said.
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