"That's gotta be stressful": Sodapoppin reacts to Twitch layoffs

Olivia Richman Published 21/03/2023

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.

Twitch employees allegedly unsure about their future

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.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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