E-commerce company Etsy laid off 225 employees

san francisco (Uttam Hindu News): E-commerce company Etsy is laying off 11 percent of its employees to restructure its business and streamline costs. About 225 employees at Etsy will lose their jobs over the holiday season, bringing the number of employees across its core marketplace to about 1,770, CNBC reports.

“We are operating in a very challenging macro and competitive environment, and (gross merchandise sales) have remained essentially flat through 2021,” Etsy CEO Josh Silverman told employees in an email. “That means we’re not driving more sales to our sellers, which is the most important thing we can do for them,” he said. “Also, staff expenses have increased even though we have introduced cost-cutting measures and put recruitment plans on hold.”

Etsy stock closed 2 percent lower after the announcement, after falling 7 percent the day before. The layoffs will cost Etsy between $25-30 million, including severance payments, employee benefits and other related costs. The restructuring is expected to deliver “meaningful operational efficiencies and cost savings and/or cost avoidance.”

The company will give the affected employees 16 weeks of deduction from base salary and one week for each completed year of service, along with other benefits. The restructuring is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2024. Etsy’s chief marketing officer Ryan Scott will be leaving the company. According to the report, Chief Human Resources Officer Kimaria Seymour will also be moving on as part of the restructuring exercise.