Twitch has been going through a lot of shocking changes, one of these being 400 layoffs after Dan Clancy stepped up as the new CEO. Streamer Thomas Chance “Sodapoppin” Morris recently had some criticism for how Twitch handled the layoffs, talking about the situation on his stream.
The tech and gaming spaces have been hit hard, with many mass layoffs being announced over the last few months. This includes game developers, esports organizations, and now Twitch, the most successful streaming platform in the world.
Four-hundred people losing their job is already a pretty big deal, but Sodapoppin read some further details that had him frustrated with the entire situation.
Sodapoppin streams on Twitch, where he has 8.8 million followers. The goings-on of the company is important to Sodapoppin and other streamers that are often impacted by big decisions within the platform. This is what led him to read about the news during a recent livestream.
While discussing the layoffs, Sodapoppin saw that Twitch staff have not even been informed on who will be laid off.
“Wait, the people who got fired don’t even know who yet?” Sodapoppin exclaimed. “Oh my god! That’s crazy. I don’t know how this kinda stuff works. I’m just a stupid streamer. That sucks. That’s gotta be stressful as f—.”
According to a recent blog post from Twitch, the staff won’t be informed until next week. Meanwhile, they are left wondering who will be let go. This situation has been made even more intense after Sodapoppin realized that there are only 1,100 people working at Twitch, meaning there’s “almost a 50% chance” they may be let go in a few days.
The Twitch layoffs were part of Amazon’s wider strategy to cut down on staffers, which includes 9,000 layoffs. According to CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon “rapidly” hired more people across all areas of the business over the last few years. It made economic sense at the time, but the company’s “instability” now has forced Amazon to reverse some of these expansions.
Said Jassy: “Given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount.”
This is a sentiment echoed by many big names in the gaming industry, including media, esports organizations, studios, and tech.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
