By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 24th, 2024
Commenting on the Reddit workforce cut in the memo, the CEO wrote that he and the team reviewed and adjusted the laid-down plans through the end of the coming year.
The worldwide job cuts happening in different organizations do not seem to be coming to an end as Reddit Inc announced plans to reduce its workforce. The social news website has joined the club of companies dismissing workers amid restructuring. More tech companies, such as Meta Platforms, have reduced their headcounts following massive hiring during the pandemic. The tech giant just concluded its three-part layoff round in May due to an economic downturn. Coaching company Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed that technology companies had chopped around 136,800 jobs between January and May 2023.
Reddit to Reduce Workforce
Now, Reddit said it is letting go of 5% of its workforce and lowering its recruitment plans. According to the company, the move targets refocusing on future growth. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman disclosed the plan to slash the workforce in a memo sent to staff. While the decision will affect about 90 full-time roles out of around 2,000 full-time roles, Reddit is also trimming its hiring plans from 300 to 100 new positions.
After the platform fueled the stock meme frenzy two years ago, it confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in late 2021. The company submitted a draft registration statement with US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This came after rumors of a possible IPO filled the air a few months before. As the company announced the draft registration statement submission, it did not specify the number of shares that would be up for sale. At the time, it said it was a “quiet period” and could not disclose further information due to regulatory reasons. However, Reddit has been unable to break through with the IPOs plan as public offerings have stalled amid fears of economic recession.
Speaking on the Reddit workforce cut in the memo, the CEO wrote that he and the team reviewed and adjusted the laid-down plans through the end of the coming year. He added:
“We’ve had a solid first half of the year and this restructuring will position us to carry that momentum into the second half and beyond.”
Reddit’s Collectible Avatars
Reddit has had a remarkable time in 2023 as its Collectible Avatars holders surged by about 80% since the year started. The holders have soared significantly within 11 months of launch. Last July, the social news website rolled out its collectible avatar marketplace on Polygon. Data from Dune analytics shows over 10 million holders of Reddit Collectible Avatar. The achievement attracted multiple reactions, including a comment from the famous “ContextMelodic 4212”. The Redditor stated that the bot activity could also be partially responsible for the growth:
“Actually there are some issues here and there with Avatars getting scooped or botted by some, it’s far from being perfect. However, I can’t think of a better use case for this technology.”