Discord triggers a 4% layoff round in an ‘active shift in talent needs,’ cutting loose several dozen people from its entertainment partnerships and marketing teams.
Discord, the voice and text chat platform aimed primarily at gamers, has laid off several dozen employees from its marketing and entertainment partnerships teams. The entertainment partnerships team was responsible for Discord’s move into acquiring larger communities for celebrity and creator-led servers.
The platform has 150 million monthly users joining and creating servers with thousands of other members around any topic of interest. It saw a surge in popularity when creators began using Discord to connect with their audiences.
“Yesterday, we made an active shift in the talent needs of our marketing department to better serve our growing business and future ambitions. As part of this, some difficult personnel decisions had to be made to meet these goals,” the company shared with DMN in a statement.
The company grew impressively in recent years as the platform’s popularity increased. Discord introduced features like server subscriptions and established partnerships with celebrities and creators who weren’t already on Discord to get them to make servers for their fanbases. For many in the fandom space, Discord became a household name.
The partnerships team was led by former VidCon Director of Talent Partnerships and WME agent Kenny Layton, who joined Discord in 2020. He and most of his crew were among the 4% of employees let go.
“Just got laid off from my role at Discord, along with many amazing colleagues from the marketing org and a majority of the Entertainment Partnerships team,” Layton writes on LinkedIn.
“After 4+ years at Discord, I was impacted by their recent marketing layoffs along with many talented creatives on my team,” tweeted another person. “Taking the day to process, but if you know any job openings for Sr. Graphic Designers/mid-level Product Designers, please reach out!”
“Discord just did a large artist layoff, and at least one person needs work soon to keep their work visa. Please spread the word for companies recruiting creative work!” tweets another. “Layoffs were random, and these people are incredibly competent artists and leaders.”
