SiriusXM is cutting its workforce by three percent, or about 160 employees, in a move that CEO Jennifer Witz says will make the company “more efficient, agile, and flexible” in the new year. In a memo to employees, Witz says the layoffs are part of several organizational changes being made inside the company.
She says they will allow SiriusXM to “move faster and collaborate more effectively in support of our long-term objectives.”
The move is part of a plan executives told analysts earlier this month that aims to find $200 million of additional cost savings during 2024, through a reallocation of resources in programming, marketing and customer service. That is on top of $140 million in cost savings that it secured last year through organizational structure changes, a consolidated real estate footprint, and other operational efficiencies. It is also the second round of layoffs in less than a year at SiriusXM. In March 2023, it dismissed 475 people, or eight percent of its workforce.
“We made significant progress on the transformation of our business in 2023, but we have just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible here at SiriusXM,” Witz says, “to continue on our path to future subscriber growth and sustain our Company’s success as the competitive landscape evolves.” She says in the memo that the restructuring will mean uniting some teams and “better aligning initiatives” as well as investing in new technologies. “We are focused on increasing efficiencies and redeploying resources to support the strategic priorities of our business,” Witz says.
SiriusXM reported $2.29 billion of revenue during the fourth quarter, as it closed 2023 with $8.95 billion in total revenue – both relatively flat versus the prior year. Most of last year’s revenue ($6.8 billion) came from its satellite radio business.
Earnings slipped, however, declining 4% to $715 million in Q4. And they were off 2% for the full year, with earnings totaling $2.79 billion, which it says is due to investments in the company’s products and technology platform and new satellite construction.
Shares of SiriusXM were higher in afternoon trading in New York.