Report: Twitch is laying off 35 percent of its workforce

Streaming giant Twitch is reducing its headcount by 35 percent by laying off around 500 workers.

That's according to a report from Bloomberg, which learned about the latest cuts after speaking to people familiar with the company's plans.

It's unclear why the layoffs have been sanctioned, with Twitch declining to comment on the story when approached by Bloomberg.

Twitch, however, is undeniably struggling and endured a tumultuous 2023. The Amazon-owned company saw CEO and co-founder Emmett Shear depart in March last year to spend time with his family.

Just days later, Twitch laid off over 400 workers to enable it to cope with the impact of the "current macroeconomic environment."

At the time, the company said revenue growth was stagnating and suggested the layoffs were being made in pursuit of "sustainability."

"Our mission at Twitch is to empower communities to create, together. You rely on us to give you the tools you need to build your communities, stream your passions safely, and make money doing what you love," said Twitch CEO Dan Clancy just under a year ago.

"We take this responsibility incredibly seriously and sometimes need to make extremely hard decisions to ensure we protect our business in order for Twitch to be around for a long time."

Twitch's shutdown in Korea

Clancy indicated there would be "big opportunities" to expand despite the layoffs. Nine months later, Twitch began shutting down its business in Korea and claimed operating costs in the region has become "prohibitively expensive."

"Ultimately, the cost to operate Twitch in Korea is prohibitively expensive and we have spent significant effort working to reduce these costs so that we could find a way for the Twitch business to remain in Korea," said Clancy when breaking the news.

Twitch will officially exit Korea on February 27, 2024.