Audio equipment manufacturer Sonos has laid off 6 percent of its workforce. Around 100 employees have been affected by Sonos’ workforce reduction plans while the company deals with fixing some of the damage their new app has wrecked on their business. Sonos’ problems began to multiply when they released a new app this year in May, which, instead of improving the user experience, had customers leaving an overwhelming number of complaints about the upgrade.
With multiple bugs, missing features, and problems with accessibility, the app has considerably disrupted work at the organization. Sonos’ layoffs and the 100 employees affected are both stuck in positions that no one would have volunteered for.
Image: Sonos Ace Headphones
Sonos Layoffs Move Forward after Company App Struggles
Reports suggest that Sonons’ workforce reduction plans affected multiple departments across the company from marketing to engineering. The 100 employees affected by the Sonos layoffs abruptly lost access to their work which indicates that they were caught unaware of the decision and let go immediately. The company had over 1,800 employees in 2022 according to CNBC, which makes it a smaller company compared to some others that are popular in the audio equipment manufacturing business. Despite that, its customer base is considerably larger than the company size would suggest.
Talking to The Verge about the staff layoffs, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said “This action was a difficult, but necessary, measure to ensure continued, meaningful investment in Sonos’ product roadmap while setting Sonos up for long-term success.”
Sonos’ layoffs may be linked to app issues this time but it isn’t the company’s first encounter with job cuts. The organization had to let go of 12 percent of employees in 2020, and then later eliminated another 7 percent of workers in 2023. For a while, it had seemed like the company would not have to turn to extreme measures this year because of a series of successful product launches, but the app has put that future into jeopardy. Many have called for the CEO to step down but Patrick Spence appears confident that he can still help the company turn things around.
What’s Next For Sonos Following the Staff Layoffs
Sonos has not elaborated on how its workforce reduction plans will help the company get the app back on track, a goal that the company has promised is their primary focus for now. The employees who were asked to leave could have in some way been associated with the failure of the app but considering the layoffs have occurred across departments, that does seem unlikely. Whether it’s a cost-cutting measure or if it has more pressing implications for the company, Sonos has moved on from the layoffs and is setting its sights on the next step.
It is reported that two product launches have been halted in order to fix the underperforming app that actually lets users use the audio devices to their full potential. Many were surprised when the company released the Sonos Ace headphones in June when the app issues had already risen in large numbers but it appears the company is not planning on repeating that mistake.
Rumors also suggest that the company might do away entirely with the botched app and bring back its predecessor for the time being. Putting the current app on hold and taking it off the market would be for the best but it could render their devices inoperable if they get rid of the software entirely, so bringing in the older app is a good idea. Sonos’ layoffs of 100 employees are not expected to disrupt any of the planning being done to find a fix. CEO Spence reiterated “Continued commitment to the app recovery and delighting our customers remains our priority, and we are confident that today’s actions will not impact our ability to deliver on that promise.”
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