(KRON) -- Online marketplace Etsy is laying off 225 team members, about 11% of its total workforce, the company's CEO Josh Silverman announced Wednesday. The job cuts come as part of broader updates to the company's internal structure to position Etsy for growth and "better serve our customers," Silverman wrote in a post on the company website.
"As I shared in my livestream a few moments ago, today we are announcing some very difficult yet necessary decisions to better position Etsy for future growth. After deep discussion and careful consideration, we are reorganizing our internal structure to more closely align our resources with our most important business priorities and better serve our customers," Silverman wrote. "As part of this, I’m sad to share that we must say goodbye to approximately 225 team members, reducing the Etsy workforce by ~11%. This decision was among the hardest we’ve ever made, and one that we have tried earnestly to avoid."
Silverman went on to cite now familiar factors as reasons behind the job cuts. The Etsy marketplace has more than doubled in size since 2019, Silverman said. However, growth has remained "essentially flat since 2021," he added.
"This means we are not bringing our sellers more sales," he said, adding that "at the same time, employee expenses have grown."
Online retail platforms like Etsy saw significant growth during the COVID-19 pandemic when many consumers pivoted to online shopping. Many tech companies scaled their staff to meet the increased demand.
As the pandemic subsided and people returned to more traditional shopping and consumption habits, tech companies across the board have found the need to cut staff to be more in-line with pre-pandemic levels.
Silverman echoed these concerns in his posting.
"Following extensive discussions and analysis with senior leaders, it was apparent that a leaner, more agile team would enable us to properly focus on our key growth priorities, move bold and fast, and maintain a sustainable cost structure," he wrote.
The staff reduction, Silverman wrote, would help the company reach "fighting weight," putting them more in line with where their staff size was in early 2022.
Severance for employees whose jobs are cut will include:
- 16 weeks of base pay, plus one week for each full year of service
- Bonus payments for 2023
- 12 months of COBRA coverage
- Payout of accrued PTO
- Three months of career service support
- Being able to retain their laptops for personal use
- Immigration support for employees that need it
Etsy, Silverman wrote, has filed a report with the SEC that includes financial disclosures related to the job cuts.