This morning, Twitter announced its third quarter results — and layoffs.
The social media giant, which recently lost potential buyers like Salesforce, Disney, and Google, posted revenue of $616 million, up 8 percent for Q3, beating analysts’ expectations of $605-6 million. The company’s net loss fell to 15 cents a share, compared to predictions of 19 cents a share. Total monthly users, however, grew just 1.7 percent from Q2.
“We see a significant opportunity to increase growth as we continue to improve the core service,” said CEO Jack Dorsey in a statement. “We have a clear plan, and we’re making the necessary changes to ensure Twitter is positioned for long-term growth. The key drivers of future revenue growth are trending positive, and we remain confident in Twitter’s future.”
Layoffs will center in sales, partnerships, and marketing, and are expected to include 350 jobs, or 9 percent of Twitter’s global workforce. In addition, the company announced that it would discontinue its Vine app, which it acquired in 2012, in the next few months. Existing Vines will still be available on the Vine website for users to view or download.
“Slimming down its internal costs may help make Twitter a more attractive proposition for buyers,” speculates James Vincent at The Verge. “Over the past months a number of companies including Salesforce and Disney have reportedly explored the option of buying Twitter, but ultimately no bids were made. This is partly due to the company’s high price tag (estimated at around $20 billion), but also because of its reputation as a haven for trolls and abuse.”
Dorsey will discuss the layoffs in an all-hands meeting later this afternoon. In October 2015, Twitter cut 336 employees, 8 percent of its staff.
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