DUMBO

Brooklyn’s largest tech company Etsy lays off 15 percent of staff

June 22, 2017 By Scott Enman Brooklyn Daily Eagle
DUMBO-based Etsy announced a second round of layoffs on Wednesday. The tech company cut 140 positions or 15 percent of its staff. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File
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Brooklyn’s biggest tech company Etsy announced a second round of layoffs on Wednesday, cutting 140 positions, or 15 percent of its staff. 

The DUMBO-based business, which was founded in 2005, dismissed an additional 80 people in May to reduce costs. 

The most recent round of cuts brings Etsy’s total number of people let go to 230, or 22 percent of the company’s headcount at the end of 2016. 

“In order to drive focus, we took decisive steps to double down on the fewest, highest-impact initiatives in our core marketplace while deprioritizing other projects and streamlining our resources,” said Etsy CEO Josh Silverman in a press release.

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“Parting ways with our colleagues is not easy and I am thankful for their contributions. We are moving forward with a more nimble structure that supports our current business needs and allows for faster execution so we can better serve creative entrepreneurs around the world.”

The majority of the positions cut by Etsy were in marketing, product management and administration. 

The company’s CEO and CTO resigned on May 2. Since then, the company’s stock has gone up 41 percent, reports Technical.ly Brooklyn. 

Etsy announced its move to DUMBO in May 2014. 

In 2016, Etsy leased a 200,000-square-foot space from Kushner Cos. at 117 Adams St., a former Jehovah’s Witnesses building.

Jared Kushner headed Kushner Cos. before he stepped aside to serve as senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump.  

 


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