By Jorge Mercado Wednesday, February 5th, 2025

Santa Barbara-based Sonos is laying off 200 people, or approximately 12% of its workforce, the audio company announced on Feb. 5, less than a month after the business replaced former CEO Patrick Spence.

In a video to employees, Tom Conrad, Sonos interim CEO as of Jan. 13, said the company is “most significantly” shaking up its product management team.

“(We are creating) functional groups for hardware, software, design, quality and operations, and away from dedicated business units devoted to individual product categories,” Conrad said.

Conrad believes this decision will improve the company’s ability to deliver new products.

“Being smaller and more focused will require us to do a much better job of prioritizing our work — lately we’ve let too many projects run under a cloud of half-commitment. We’re going to fix this too,” he said.

The company did not immediately respond to request for comment on where the job cuts are located.

Sonos estimates that the job cuts will incur approximately $15 to $18 million of restructuring and related charges, the majority of it relating to employee severance and benefits costs. 

Those costs will be noted in the company’s second-quarter earnings. Sonos’ first-quarter earnings will be released on Feb. 6.

News of the company’s job cuts came after the markets closed on Feb. 5, with shares of Sonos closing at $14.26. Shares are down about 6% in after-hours trading.

This is the second time in less than a year that the company has announced layoffs as well.

In August, Sonos laid off about 100 employees, or 6% of its workforce, due to a failed app redesign. 

The layoffs were part of a plan to improve the company’s cost structure and operating model. 

It also comes just a few weeks after Spence, who was the company’s CEO for eight years, stepped down from his chief executive spot.

All this turmoil stems from Sonos’ decision in May to release its overhauled app to the masses. 

The app faced almost immediate backlash from even its longest customers due to apps missing numerous key features and being an overall glitchy mess.

Those app glitches hurt Sonos’ stock, as shares fell as much as 40% following the company’s May 7 app release date. Shares are still down about 16% since May.

The app’s failure also hurt several fiscal numbers as its fourth-quarter revenue fell down $50 million from the previous fourth quarter.

Overall fiscal year revenue also suffered, which was down from $1.65 billion in 2023 to $1.51 billion in 2024.

The updated app was also released nearly alongside the long-awaited release of the company’s first-ever headphones, Ace.

Sales for the Ace headphones have failed to meet expectations, with many citing customers overall outrage at the app playing a key role in that failure.

Conrad, who immediately replaced Spence at the company’s top spot, said these February layoffs are “a terrible outcome.”

“I know that everyone here cares deeply about Sonos and the experiences we build for our customers — and I know thatyou want us to get back on track after a tough year. You’ve also told me that we’re struggling to make all the progress we want,” Conrad said.

Conrad said the company’s main focus now is “reorganizing into flatter, smaller, and more focused teams.”

Conrad previously served as the CEO of Zero Longevity Science, where he has driven growth for its subscription digital health platform since 2021, according to the press release.

He also served as the chief product officer of Quibi, the $2 billion short-form streaming service that failed about six months following its launch.

email: [email protected]