Comscore lays off 8% of workforce

Video measurement and analytics company Comscore will lay off approximately 8% of its workforce as part of a plan to reorganize its technology, product and sales organizations.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said most employees impacted by the layoffs will exit the company in the third quarter of 2019.

In connection with the layoffs, Comscore will incur exit-related costs expected to range between $1.5 million and $2.5 million, consisting primarily of one-time termination benefits and associated costs, to be settled in cash. The company said that together with recent attrition, the layoffs are expected to decrease the company's annualized operating costs by more than $20 million, part of which will be realized beginning in the third quarter.

RELATED: ComScore reveals 2017 net losses of about $281M

The layoffs follow last week’s news that Paul Reilly, Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee for Comscore’s board, is resigning as a director. Reilly notified the company via email and said he does not believe the company’s operating strategy is progressing fast enough, specifically in innovation and product development.

The recent developments follow Comscore’s second-quarter earnings report marked by a 4.4% year over year decline in revenue to $96.9 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $3.2 million.

"In the second quarter, we took significant steps to better prioritize, refocus and invest in our product portfolio, and provide our customers with innovative technologies and services which we believe will drive us to a position of profitability and growth faster and more efficiently," said Dale Fuller, director and interim chief executive officer of Comscore, in a statement. "Additionally, we reduced core operating costs in the quarter, which provided greater financial flexibility as we seek to maximize our resources. The management team is exploring all aspects of the business and is conducting a comprehensive strategic review of all our options, making sure that our talent is focused on developing compelling products that our customers want and need. We believe this approach should ultimately allow us to generate break-even to positive operating cash flow later this year."