Twitter Laying Off 9% Of Workforce After Failing To Sell Itself

As expected, Twitter has announced that it’s laying off a large chunk of its workforce as it prepares to go it alone after failing to attract a solid suitor.

In its first quarterly report since Salesforce, Disney, and Google all walked away from the takeover talks table, Twitter posted another quarter of slowing revenue growth, and said it would be letting 9% of its global workforce go as it tries to restructure and revive business.

Twitter says in a letter to investors that [PDF] the job cuts will mostly come from efforts to reorganize its sales, partnerships, and marketing as it tries to become profitable in 2017.

“The restructuring allows us to continue to fully fund our highest priorities, while eliminating investment in non-core areas and driving greater efficiency,” the company said in its report to investors.

Revenue was up by 8.2% to $615.9 million, it’s smallest gain yet and the ninth straight quarter of slowing growth, The Wall Street Journal notes. Monthly active users were only up 1.7% from the previous quarter, at 317 million. These numbers were actually a bit of a bright spot, as they just beat analysts’ expectations, causing stock shares to rise 4.3% on Thursday to $18.07 in premarket trading. That’s after falling 45% for the past 12 months.

The company is now relying on a push to live-stream content like some National Football League and Major League Baseball games, as well as events like the recent presidential debates. The company hopes live-streaming content will attract folks who aren’t really into Twitter yet, like your dad or coworker who says, “I just don’t understand what that Twitter thing is for.” Then you can say things like, “It’s for watching the Packers when you don’t have TV, Dad.”

“Our strategy is directly driving growth in audience and engagement, with an acceleration in year over-year
growth for daily active usage, Tweet impressions, and time spent for the second consecutive quarter,” said Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO said in a statement. “We see a significant opportunity to increase growth as we continue to improve the core service. We have a clear plan, and we’re making the necessary changes to ensure Twitter is positioned for long-term growth. The key drivers of future revenue growth are trending positive, and we remain confident in Twitter’s future.”