Warner Music Group is cutting 4% of its workforce globally, as the company’s Chief Executive Robert Kyncl described as part of an effort to “develop” the music giant.
The workforce cuts, announced Wednesday in a staff memo from Kyncl, are expected to affect about 270 of the company’s 6,200 employees worldwide.
“In speaking with our leaders across the company, Many people have the same conclusion. That is to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead of us. We had to make difficult decisions in order to develop,” said Kyncl, who took over. as CEO earlier this year after serving as a senior executive at YouTube.
Emphasizing that “this is not a blanket cost-cutting exercise,” Kyncl noted that WMG will “resource news skills for artist and songwriter development and new technology initiatives.” Reduce discretionary spending as well.
The WMG cuts come amid cost-cutting measures and layoffs in the media and technology sectors. Disney this week began a plan to lay off 7,000 workers, while Meta announced 10,000 layoffs this month. After laying off 11,000 workers in November, NPR cut 10% of its workforce, citing a $30 million drop in advertising revenue.
WMG’s decline comes several weeks after the company reported an 8 percent drop in revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 compared to the same period last year. While revenue from digital fell 5%.
