Discord is laying off 17% of employees

Discord is undergoing a workforce reduction, with 17 percent of its staff being laid off, according to CEO Jason Citron. T

he move is aimed at enhancing focus and organizational agility, impacting 170 employees across various departments. While Discord isn't facing severe financial challenges, the messaging app is still striving for profitability and seeking to boost user growth after a surge during the pandemic.

Citron acknowledged that Discord expanded its workforce rapidly, growing by five times since 2020, leading to inefficiencies. These layoffs, the largest for Discord to date, follow a 4 percent staff reduction in August. The company, with over $700 million in cash, aims to achieve profitability in the current year and has contemplated going public since rejecting a $12 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft in 2021.