by Cho Seulkina
Published 28 Apr.2023 00:48(KST)
American cloud service company Dropbox is set to implement layoffs affecting 500 employees, accounting for 16% of its global workforce.
Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox, announced on the 27th (local time) through a blog post that "we have made the difficult decision to reduce our global workforce by approximately 16%, or 500 employees." CEO Houston cited factors such as slowed growth and the advent of the artificial intelligence (AI) computing era as the reasons behind this decision.
He first explained, "(Dropbox's business) remains profitable, but growth has slowed," adding, "This is partly because our existing business has naturally matured, but also because the recent economic slowdown has created headwinds that are putting pressure on our customers and business." He went on to mention the need for restructuring, stating, "Some investments that have generated positive returns are no longer sustainable."
Additionally, CEO Houston pointed out, "More importantly, the era of AI computing has finally arrived," emphasizing, "The opportunities before us are greater than ever, but the need to act quickly to seize these opportunities has also increased." He noted that this momentum presents the same opportunities to competitors and stressed the necessity of a combination of various technologies, including AI, for the next phase of growth. Furthermore, he added that to secure resources for future growth investments, the company will carry out significant cuts focusing on existing investment areas where potential has disappeared and areas where strict performance management was lacking.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.