Etsy is cutting its workforce by 11%, which means it will say goodbye to around 225 employees, according to a statement from CEO Josh Silverman.
“This decision was among the hardest we’ve ever made, and one that we have tried earnestly to avoid,” Silverman said in the statement, which was titled “Evolving Etsy’s structure to drive growth and support our sellers.”
He noted that while the Etsy marketplace has doubled in size since 2019, “we are operating in a very challenging macro and competitive environment, and [gross merchandise sales have] remained essentially flat since 2021.
“This means we are not bringing our sellers more sales, which is the single most important thing we can do for them. At the same time, employee expenses have grown, even as we have introduced significant cost-cutting measures and adjusted or paused hiring plans. This is ultimately not a sustainable trajectory and we must change it.”
As part of the reorganization, chief marketing officer Ryan Scott will leave the company, and Raina Moskowitz will take on the title of chief operating and marketing officer. Moskowitz, a former executive with American Express, joined the company in 2022 as chief operating officer. Kim Seymour, Etsy’s current chief human resources officer, is also leaving Etsy, and Toni Thompson, the company’s current vice president of global people and talent strategy, will take her place. The management changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
Departing employees will be given 16 weeks of base pay, plus one week for each full year that they’ve worked there, and will be paid their 2023 bonuses. They are also getting three months of career service support.
In its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 (ended Sept. 30), Etsy reported consolidated gross merchandise sales of $3 billion, up 1.2% over last year and flat on a constant currency basis.
Top: Etsy’s headquarters in Brooklyn. (Photo courtesy of Etsy)
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