Roku lays off workers again, weeks after SVB bailout


Roku, the video streamer recently in the hot seat for holding $487 million at Silicon Valley Bank, is laying off workers for the second time in five months.

The San Jose-based firm announced the 200-worker layoff round in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday and said it will also leave or sublease unoccupied office facilities. The move will cost Roku $30 million to $35 million in severance and notice pay, benefits, and office costs, the filing said. The workforce cut represents 6% of Roku’s employees.

A company spokesperson told SFGATE this wave of cost-cutting is an attempt to slow operating expense growth, focused on “lower-priority programs and initiatives.” The company cited similar reasoning for its November layoff round, also affecting 200 workers.

“We believe these actions are necessary to enhance our leadership position in TV streaming and achieve our goals,” the spokesperson added. Roku would not confirm if this would be the last layoff round of the year, what the severance packages would specifically contain or where in the company the job cuts would be concentrated. 

Roku spun off from Netflix in 2008 and went on to popularize the now-ubiquitous streaming devices that hook up to televisions. After years of simply partnering with streamers, Roku launched its own channel in 2017 — a free, ad-supported place to watch TV and movies on its devices.

More recently, the company has pushed into creating its own video content, including “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (a biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe) and Kevin Hart’s action comedy show “Die Hart.” The New York Times reported that the company’s annual content budget is now around $1 billion.

By the end of 2022, Roku had 70 million active accounts but mixed prospects. The firm’s profit stagnated last year as costs rose, and it now aims to hit its profitability goal in 2024. Like other tech and media firms, Roku’s stock price peaked during the digital advertising boom of the pandemic but has since cratered.

Last summer, the Times reported that Roku was assuring investors that it wouldn’t be laying off employees as it dealt with the advertising slowdown. 

The company, like many who have cut down workforces in recent months, used dehumanizing language and avoided the term “layoff” in its regulatory filing — a “restructuring plan” will “impact” employees.

Hear of anything happening at Roku or another tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at [email protected] or on Signal at 628-204-5452.





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