Roku is commencing a second round of layoffs that will impact another 200 employees, the company disclosed in an SEC filing on Thursday.
The headcount reduction, which makes up approximately 6% of Roku’s workforce, comes over four months after Roku announced plans to cut 200 U.S.-based jobs. Reached by Fierce, Roku declined to disclose whether the new job cuts will only affect U.S. employees or Roku’s workforce worldwide.
As of December 31, 2022, Roku employed approximately 3,600 full-time employees in 14 countries.
According to the 8-K filing, Roku estimates incurring approximately $30 million to $35 million in connection with the layoffs, mainly related to severance payments, notice pay and employee benefits contributions. Additionally, Roku through its restructuring plan will cease use of “certain office facilities that the Company does not currently occupy.”
Roku expects to incur most restructuring charges in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, with headcount reductions substantially completed by the second quarter.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to focus our spending on key strategic priorities and slow the year-over-year growth of operating expenses, Roku has decided to reduce or postpone some lower-priority programs and initiatives,” a Roku spokesperson told Fierce Video.
“While these efforts largely target non-headcount expenses, this decision is expected to impact approximately 200 employees, which is approximately 6% of our workforce,” the spokesperson added. “We believe these actions are necessary to enhance our leadership position in TV streaming and achieve our goals, which include delivering positive adjusted EBITDA for full year 2024.”
Roku is striving to build out its streaming presence with its own branded smart TVs, which hit the market earlier this month. The TV sets are exclusively available at Best Buy stores in the U.S. But as for the company’s streaming dongles, Roku in Q4 earnings reported an 18% year-on-year decline in revenue from device sales.
Roku was among the companies that had money held (roughly half a billion dollars) at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, though federal regulators assured depositors they will be able to access their money.
In other layoff developments in the streaming space, Disney this week began its first round of job cuts that would ultimately impact 7,000 employees. The company kicked off the proceedings by reportedly slashing 300 streaming-focused jobs in China.