Unfortunately, Twitch started 2024 on the wrong foot. Despite being the leader in streaming platforms and hosting thousands of content creators every day, it still struggles to make its business profitable. This situation led to layoffs that affected hundreds of employees.
On January 10th, the company confirmed that it would be laying off 500 employees, around 35% of the workforce. In a statement, CEO Dan Clancy clarified that the organization was larger than necessary.
Now, the executive held a special live stream where he addressed this unfortunate situation, answered community questions, and shed light on the current state of the streaming platform.
Twitch is still not profitable, confirms Dan Clancy
The CEO of the Amazon-owned company emphasized once again that the decision to reduce the staff is aimed at ensuring the organization is the right size. He asserts that his job is to manage the platform to ensure its prosperity.
"We have an important mission: it is crucial that Twitch is not just here today or tomorrow but 50 or 100 years from now," highlighted the executive in the live stream.
Due to the global health crisis that impacted the world in 2020 and forced millions of people to stay at home, the platform experienced exponential growth. At that time, the company's teams estimated where they could be in 3 or 4 years.
However, Dan Clancy acknowledged that they now need to redirect the company in the right direction based on its current state and position. "The bottom line is that we were bigger than we needed to be," he emphasized.
Next, the CEO of the entertainment giant confirmed that the company is still not profitable and that Amazon provides significant financial support. This is noteworthy considering the million-dollar earnings that content creators receive. In the statement confirming the massive layoffs, it was revealed that the platform paid over $1 billion USD to streamers in 2023.
"I'll be honest: we are not profitable at the moment. Amazon strongly supports Twitch. A significant factor in being sustainable over time is ensuring that we don't lose money, and that's a big part of my job because that will ensure we can be here in the long term," confessed Dan Clancy.
Is Twitch at risk? Dan Clancy responds
These words worried streamers, who fear that the platform might disappear, affecting their careers and communities. The CEO reassured users.
In response to a viewer asking if Twitch is at risk of being eliminated by Amazon, Dan Clancy stated that they are not in danger, and he even assured that Amazon "is very optimistic" about the platform and invests a lot of money in the website. He also assured that Prime Gaming will still exist and TwitchCon will not disappear.
But tell us, do you consume Twitch? Let us hear from you in the comments.
Comments
Best
New