Roku to lay off another 200 workers in latest round of cuts
Streaming device maker Roku on Thursday said it planned to lay off 200 employees, or 6% of its workforce, as it seeks to trim down its expenses in a tough economic environment.
The San Jose company also said it plans to exit or sublease office space that it’s not currently using.
It’s the latest round of layoffs for the company, which announced 200 U.S. job cuts last year.
The company has previously warned that it was facing a difficult economy and a muted ad market. Other tech companies including Amazon and Meta have also announced additional rounds of job cuts after already enacting thousands of layoffs.
During the pandemic, the company expanded its presence in Southern California as it grew its catalog of original content.
Roku said in a regulatory filing that it would take about $30 million to $35 million in nonrecurring charges associated with the plan.
“We believe these actions are necessary to enhance our leadership position in TV streaming and achieve our goals,” a Roku spokesperson said in a statement. “As part of our ongoing efforts to focus our spending on key strategic priorities... Roku has decided to reduce or postpone some lower-priority programs and initiatives.”
Roku did not provide the locations of the office leases it plans to exit or how many jobs would be lost in California.
A pioneer in the connected TV device space, Roku has increased its line of products and services over the years, including selling smart home cameras, expanding its ad-supported streaming service, the Roku Channel, and designing its own branded TVs.
The company has also invested in original programming, including a parody biopic of “Weird Al” Yankovic that was released last year on the Roku Channel, which is free to stream and makes money from advertising.
Tech executive Mark Robins decorates his home in holiday lights synced up to more than two dozen songs. His impressive display caught the attention of Roku’s CEO, which helped Robins eventually land a pivotal role at the streamer.
Last month, executives told investors that the company remained well positioned but signaled that economic conditions had put pressure on the ad market, which in turn had hurt revenue.
Roku also disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had about $487 million at the failed Silicon Valley Bank, or about 26% of its cash and cash equivalents balance. Shortly after the bank’s collapse, the U.S. government declared that depositors would be made whole.
Roku stock declined about 4% to $61.47 a share on Thursday morning.
Amid the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, the annual tech and culture summit South by Southwest in Austin has taken on a decidedly somber tone.
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