Global Recession Threatened, Spotify Temporarily Freezes New Hiring

JAKARTA - Spotify has started cutting new hires by 25 percent as fears of a recession escalate. This is known from an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. It is not clear which parts of the business will be most affected, as a result of this tightening.

Spotify isn't the only tech company to reevaluate its staff as the stock market crashes. Twitter and Meta have also announced some degree of freeze on new hires respectively since last month.

Even Netflix's policies made headlines in April for carrying out layoffs, especially on internal fan site Tudum.

During Spotify's investor presentation last week, CEO, Daniel Ek, emphasized the company's growth not only in subscriptions but also in verticals beyond music such as podcasting and, soon, audiobooks.

However, Spotify's chief financial officer, Paul Vogel, has hinted that staffing could be affected by the current deteriorating world economic conditions.

"We are clearly aware of the increasing uncertainty regarding the global economy," Vogel said. "And while we haven't seen any material impact on our business, we are closely monitoring the situation and evaluating the growth in our workforce in the near future."

Spotify alone had more than 6,600 staff at the end of 2021. This number is an 18 percent increase from the previous year. While the market may be forcing the company to slow down its ambitions and expansion, Ek said in a staff memo that the company would still be adding more employees.