If you follow many YouTube channels or Instagram accounts, you probably already know Patreon. A platform dedicated to creators allows them to monetize their content. via donations or subscriptions followers. But if Patreon has been in the news lately, it’s because of the layoffs announced by the company. In an Instagram post and then a blog post, Jack Conte, CEO of Patreon, announces the layoff of 17% of the company’s employees.
Patreon: ‘excessive’ growth followed by economic downturn
AT son ticket, Conte assures that these layoffs were decided as a last resort. The company is the same mission, help creators monetize their content. “In fact, I am convinced more than ever that the world needs a better economic system for creatives, and Patreon will continue to build that system for creators for decades to come,” the CEO wrote. However, Patreon had to make a difficult decision due to the pandemic, which “introduced volatility into the overall trend.” During the health crisis, the authors’ economy accelerated significantly due to restrictions. In response, Patreon has developed an operational plan to respond to this growth, which the company considers “excessive.” Sadly when life resumed son normal course, we do face to a slowdown in economic growth. And the plan developed during the pandemic is no longer relevant for Patreon. “I take full responsibility for choosing this original path and for today’s changes, which will be very difficult for our team,” writes Jack Conte.
Dismissal of 80 employees and closing of offices in Europe
As it continues to invest in its products, Patreon is announcing a restructuring of its marketing teams. In terms of creator relationships, the company will be based on a small, consolidated team in the United States. “We will reduce the size of our operations, recruitment and other functions support internal to match the new scale and priorities of the rest of the business,” Conte explained. As part of this reorganization, Patreon will also close offices in Dublin and Berlin. However, the premises in Porto will remain. Here the staff responsible for support for creators and patrons (those who finance creators) in Europe. It should be noted that this layoff of 17% of the workforce, which corresponds to 80 employees, follows the layoff of 5 security personnel a week ago. In this regard, Patreon clarifies that it has not decided to cut its investment in platform security. According to the company, the two events are unrelated. “Last week’s change was part of a long-term strategy to further distribute security responsibilities across our engineering team, bring new areas of expertise to Patreon internally, and continue partnering with external experts,” says Patreon.
