StubHub Slashes Ticket Resellers’ Field Operations, 100 Employees Laid Off [REPORT]
StubHub's been making some interest moves of late from producing its own shows to launching a concert discovery app but competition from newer operations like Ticketmaster Plus may be reducing their market. A TechCrunch source claims that as many as 100 of StubHub's 700 employees have been laid off due to such challenges. StubHub confirmed that the "majority of positions eliminated were in our Field Operations division" due to the growth of electronic ticketing.
TechCrunch reported the firings stating:
"A source tells us the cuts were made after the company failed to meet its parent company’s expectations, due to changing dynamics in the market for secondary ticket sales."
"StubHub wouldn’t comment on the size of the layoffs, but we’ve heard that approximately 100 employees were affected. That’s out of a total headcount of about 700 employees at StubHub at the time the cuts were made."
In addition:
"A source tells us increased competition resulted in StubHub missing its numbers, which prompted the company re-org."
StubHub partially confirmed the news in a statement to TechCrunch:
"StubHub announced a reorganization In June that will allow us to be more nimble and efficient in serving fans. The organization change had the unfortunate consequence of eliminating the roles of some StubHub employees. The majority of positions eliminated were in our Field Operations division, where the proliferation of electronic tickets has reduced our need for on the ground customer support."
I imagine we'll be hearing more about the details.These cuts come as StubHub also moves forward with some interesting intitiatives including producing a concert series and launching a concert discovery app.
In brighter news, StubHub renewed its exclusive ticketing partnership with ESPN through 2017.
More:
- StubHub Launches Concert Discovery App As Part Of Bigger Push Into Music
- StubHub To Promote Emerging Artist Concerts
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) also blogs at DanceLand. Send news about music tech startups and services, DIY music biz and music marketing to: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
