Pandora Cuts 5 Percent Of Staff, Expands Atlanta Office

This week, Pandora announced a restructuring that it expects will help save $45 million annually. As part of the restructuring, Pandora is laying off 5 percent of its staff. The shift allows the company to focus on ad-tech, non-music content, device integration, marketing technology and audience development efforts, and will combine certain roles. The music streaming company also announced plans to expands its workforce in Atlanta, a location with lower costs than the company’s Oakland, California headquarters.

In 2016, the company reported its headcount at 2,488 employees. Pandora expects the restructuring to be significantly finished in the first quarter of 2018.

“Pandora is the largest music streaming service in the U.S. People spend more time on Pandora than any other digital platform in the country, and as our dynamic industry evolves, we must also evolve,” said Roger Lynch, CEO of Pandora. “As I shared last quarter, we know where and how to invest in order to grow. We have an aggressive plan in place that includes strategic investments in our priorities: ad-tech, product, content, partnerships and marketing. I am confident these changes will enable us to drive revenue and listener growth.

“Atlanta is a city with a rich history in music and a large pool of diverse tech talent that we can tap into as we scale,” added Lynch. “While we are committed to having Oakland remain our headquarters, we’re excited to build on the great foundation of our awesome team there and expand our presence in Atlanta over time. These changes allow us to act faster, invest for growth and extend our leadership as the audio market hits what we believe will soon be a major inflection point.”