SoundCloud Cuts 173 Staffers In Effort To Remain Afloat

SoundCloud is laying off 173 staffers as part of cost cutting designed to help it remain afloat as an independent music service. The streamer has admitted to being deeply unprofitable and tight on cash for more than a year; and yesterday rumors increased that Deezer and several other music services were eyeing an acquisition.

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"Today, after careful and painful consideration, we took the difficult step to let go of 173 SoundCloud staffers and consolidated the team into two offices: Berlin and New York," wrote SoundCloud co-founder Alex Ljung in a post on the company's blog Thursday. The layoffs represent about 40% of SoundCloud's overall staff and mean the closure of offices in San Francisco and London.In recent days, rumors have increased that several competitors are interested in acquiring the music streamer. Today's cuts could signal that those talks aren't going well. "By reducing our costs and continuing our revenue growth," write Jung, "we’re on our path to profitability and in control of SoundCloud’s independent future."Still there are some positive signs. SoundCloud has more than doubled revenue in the last 12 months alone, according to Jung. Of course, they've also just started to pay more artists and labels.