Tech giant Dropbox has announced it will be laying off 500 staff across its global workforce, representing a 16 percent reduction. CEO and co-founder Drew Houston said the primary reason for the cuts was due to slowing growth, coupled with the incoming ‘AI era of computing’. 184,000 staff member have been laid off from more than 620 tech companies across the world in 2021, according to tracker Layoffs.fyi.
Dropbox had 3,125 staff prior to the layoff announcement and this is the first reduction in the company since January 2021, when the company first laid off 315 employees due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Writing a statement to staff via an SEC filing, Houston noted the layoffs would incur costs between $37-$42 million, which would be included in their upcoming quarterly results, which will be reported on Thursday May 4.
During the memo, Houston highlighted that the decline was due to a natural maturing of their existing businesses, as well as negative economic pressure, but emphasized the impact of the incoming ‘AI era of computing’. He emphasized the company’s efforts to remain ahead of the curve, investing in new technologies to stay competitive.
Despite the layoffs, Dropbox is profitable and their first quarter results are expected to be once again be integrated message and improved Q1 results, which will be reported next Thursday, May 4.
Dropbox is a leading cloud-based storage and content sharing platform that simplifies and enhances the way people work together on projects. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company’s mission is to provide a more enlightened way of working and collaborate across multiple teams and projects.
CEO and co-founder Drew Houston is a tech industry leader, having founded Dropbox in 2007. He leads the company in their core mission to simplify the way teams work together and build a service that people can rely on. With a focus on innovation and growth, Houston has established the company as one of the leading cloud storage and technology companies.
