Sonos will lay off 12 percent of its workforce due to COVID-19
Sonos is the latest company to announce layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It plans to eliminate 12 percent of its global headcount and close its New York retail store and six satellite offices. The company outlined these plans in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In a letter to shareholders last month, Sonos said it saw a 17 percent year-over-year decline in revenue in its second quarter. In March alone, the company’s total revenue declined 23 percent year-over-year. As a result, Sonos planned to review and reduce its operating expenses.
It isn’t clear exactly how many employees will be laid off. According to Sonos’ investor relations website, it currently has more than 1,450 full-time employees, so about 175 people may lose their jobs.
Since the pandemic began, several companies have made staff cuts. Uber announced plans to lay off as many as 6,700 employees. Lyft cut another 1,000. Airbnb shared plans to lay off 25 percent of its workforce, and Kickstarter will let up to 45 percent of its workers go. MagicLeap and GoPro also saw cuts.
In addition to the layoffs, Sonos’ board has approved a 20 percent reduction in the base salary of Sonos’ CEO through the end of this year. Other executives will see a pay cut through September 30th. All members of the board will forgo their cash retainer for the remainder of 2020. Those changes go into effect July 1st.
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