Plex, the free streaming app, laid off approximately 20% of its staff,
TechCrunch has learned, which will affect all departments, including the
Personal Media teams. “This is by far the hardest decision we’ve had to make at
Plex,” CEO Keith Valory said in a statement. “These are all wonderful people,
great colleagues, and good friends. But we believe it is the right thing for the
long-term health and stability of Plex.” The streaming app gives users a single
destination to upload and organize content (video, audio and photos) from their
own server while also allowing them to stream it via mobile app, smart TV or
desktop. In recent years, however, Plex has invested in free, ad-supported
streaming (FAST) and live TV offerings. The FAST market has become saturated as
many companies have entered the space. Plus, the overall advertising industry
has taken a hit, making it harder for companies to earn enough revenue. Valory
noted in his statement that the company was significantly impacted by the
slowdown. “While we adjusted our business plan last year after the shift in
equity markets to get us back on a path to profitability without having to cut
personnel expenses, the downturn in the ad market in Q2 put significantly more
pressure on our business and ultimately it became clear that we would need to
take additional measures in order to maintain a confident path to profitability
within the next 18 months,” he said. He added that the company is still expected
to see 30% growth this year. According to a Slack message from Valory, obtained
by The Verge, which first reported the layoffs, Valory noted that 37 employees
would be impacted. Additionally, it seems that Plex may have had another round
of layoffs earlier this year. Five months ago, a former account executive posted
on LinkedIn that they were “affected by company layoffs.” As of January, the
company had 175 employees, and its revenue was in the double-digit millions.
Updated 6/29/23 at 12:10 p.m. ET with a statement from CEO.
Bonjour à toutes et tous !
Juste pour vous informer que la communauté de reddit.com/r/francophonie vient de créer c/francophonie ;)
Venez nombreux, partager vos expérience de la vie en français dans votre coin de la Terre… et peut-être d’autres coins francophones que vous avez découvert.