GoPro lays off 200 employees as coronavirus pandemic impacts sales
The company has announced a shift toward a direct-to-consumer sales model.
GoPro has announced that it will lay off 200 employees or around 20 percent of its workforce due to the coronavirus pandemic. It aims to reduce expenses by about $100 million by switching the majority of its business to a direct-to-consumer model. The company said that Q1 revenue will be less than half of what it was in 2019 and added that CEO Nicholas Woodman will not take any salary for the rest of the year.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit just as GoPro was starting to recover from its disastrous move into drones. The company saw a large jump in revenue in the final quarter of 2019 thanks to the holiday success of the Hero 8 Black. However, it expects just $119 million in sales for Q1 2020, compared to $528 million the quarter before. Its 2020 product roadmap remains unchanged.
GoPro said it’s shifting to a direct-to-consumer model due to the COVID-19’s negative influence on its global distribution network. “We are crushed that this forces us to let go of many talented members of our team, and we are forever grateful for their contributions,” it wrote in the press release. However, it will continue to “sell to select leading retailers in key regions where consumers prefer to purchase offline or indirectly.”
