'Essentially Flat' Sales Lead to Etsy Layoffs

Gross merchandise sales have stayed "essentially flat" on Etsy for two years, while employee expenses have grown despite the company taking cost-cutting steps—which is why, as staff learned on a Wednesday livestream, the online retailer is cutting its workforce by about 11%. The company is laying off 225 workers, acknowledging the holiday season is an "unfortunate" time to be doing so and assuring them they'll stay on the payroll until at least the second of January, the Guardian reports. They will also receive "enhanced" severance packages, Business Insider reports. Shares of the company fell more than 7% after the announcement, leading Etsy, per MarketWatch, "to place among the S&P 500 index's biggest laggards."

"While the Etsy marketplace is still more than double the size it was in 2019, we need to acknowledge and adjust for today's realities," said CEO Josh Silverman in a note to employees. He called Wednesday "one of the hardest [days] we've experienced at Etsy" but told the remaining workers, "The waters may be rough right now, but there's no other ship I'd rather be on, and no other crew I'd rather be with, as we weather this cycle and emerge even stronger on the other side." (Spotify recently said it will lay off 17% of its workforce, and Hasbro almost 20%.)