In the wake of SiriusXM completing its $3.5 billion acquisition of Pandora, 60 people have been let go, according to an internal memo sent to the company’s staff by CEO Jim Meyer. A source noted to Variety that not all of the affected employees were at Pandora; the news was first reported by Billboard.
“When we acquired Pandora earlier this year, both organizations knew that there would be changes to the workforce as we aligned departments, formed new teams, and found we had greater visibility on the roadmap for the combined company,” the memo, acquired by Variety, reads. “Because of that, today we made a reduction in our ranks of less than 60 team members. Changes like these are difficult, and I want to take a moment to recognize the contributions each of those individuals gave to both Pandora and SiriusXM. Their work and focus helped put us in the leadership position we have today. We’ve made these changes to better align our resources with business needs.”
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“The opportunities for SiriusXM and Pandora together are exciting, and, now more than ever, I need your focus and dedication on the work at hand,” the memo concludes. “And I want to thank you for everything you do.”
Shortly before the acquisition was complete, Pandora announced that Roger Lynch, its CEO since 2017, and several other executives would step down, with Lynch’s roles being absorbed by Meyer. Earlier this month Lynch was named CEO of Conde Nast.
Sirius announced record revenue of $1.5 billion and $5.8 billion for the fourth quarter and year of 2018, respectively, increasing 7% and 6% compared to the prior year periods.