Patreon Lays Off 30 As It Adds 50,000 New Creators

Patreon has laid off 30 employees or 13% of staff because of economic pressures from the current COVID-19 crisis.

Kickstarter is reportedly also considering layoffs as crowdfunding projects on the platform fall 35%.

But the Patreon cuts come just as the fan patronage platform added 50,000 new creators in March, with many eager to replace income lost from touring and other sources.

But cancellations of existing Patreon subscriptions were also higher than usual, with some users citing the economy as a reason.

“It is unclear how long this economic uncertainty will last and therefore, to prepare accordingly, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with 13 percent of Patreon’s workforce,” Patreon said in a statement.

The full Patreon statement on the layoffs:

Over the past six weeks, Patreon has experienced a significant influx of new creators launching on the platform along with increased financial support from both their new and existing patrons. In March alone, we onboarded 50,000 new creators to the platform of which the average income was 60% higher than previous months. This surge, along with years of continuous growth, has put Patreon in a strong financial position to help creators successfully manage their creative businesses during this challenging time.

Although the business is in a strong cash position, we want to ensure that we can continue to support creators for many years to come. It is unclear how long this economic uncertainty will last and therefore, to prepare accordingly, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with 13% of Patreon’s workforce. This decision was not made lightly and consisted of several other factors beyond the financial ones. Prior to the pandemic, we had completed an in-depth performance review cycle and deployed a new company strategy – both exercises highlighted the need for different skill sets moving forward.

It was this combination of economic uncertainty, performance reviews and a shift in strategy that prompted us to make this change. Patreon is now on a path to long-term success and the business will emerge from this layoff even stronger, both financially and strategically.