Patreon Reduces Workforce by 20%

Patreon is set to reduce its workforce by 20%, which translates to 93 jobs, as CEO Jack Conte communicated to employees on Thursday. In a memo released publicly, Conte indicated that although Patreon’s core functions are strong, the platform needs to adapt to changing market conditions and adjust its cost framework to ensure stability, leading to these “painful” but necessary layoffs.

Conte remarked that “AI has fundamentally revolutionized the tech industry,” noting that the pace of these transformations has “never been more rapid.” However, he clarified that the layoffs are not intended to replace workers with AI.

“To clarify regarding the influence of AI on today’s decision: we are not making these changes because we believe AI can take the place of humans,” he explained. “As we have learned to utilize these new tools, it has become increasingly clear that they do not replace the creativity, judgment, meticulousness, or craftsmanship that our team excels in, nor do they substitute for the human connection that we all cherish deeply. This is my personal view, but it fundamentally aligns with Patreon’s strategy: our product vision and business are founded on the value of human creativity and connection.”

He continued, “AI has dramatically altered the tech landscape, influencing how we work, how we develop products, how we communicate, and more. That does affect our operations and organization.”

Besides the workforce reduction, Conte revealed that Patreon will undergo operational restructuring by “flattening” its organizational structure and realigning teams with its primary objectives. Employees impacted by the layoffs will receive at least 16 weeks of severance pay, plus an extra week for each year of service, healthcare coverage until the end of the year, and a $1,500 stipend to replace their company laptop.

Last week, Patreon announced a partnership with internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare to directly impede access to AI bots that aim to train their AI models using creators’ works without consent. The company asserted that it was essential to bolster its efforts in this area in light of the growing sophistication of AI scraping. This move comes amidst rising concerns from online publishers and creators regarding AI firms using their work for training.

This latest round of layoffs is the largest for Patreon since it cut 17% of its workforce in 2022, which also involved the closure of its offices in Berlin and Dublin.