Etsy Has Cut Nearly a Quarter of Its Workforce This Year

Brooklyn, N.Y.--Online retailer of mostly handmade things Etsy announced Wednesday that it is cutting 140 jobs on top of the 80 announced earlier this year, bringing the total number of positions eliminated in 2017 to 230.

That is about 22 percent of the Brooklyn, New York-based company’s workforce, which numbered more than 1,000 at the end of 2016.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Etsy said it is “realigning its resources” to focus on critical areas like enhancing search and discovery, improving the buyer journey and the effectiveness of its marketing, driving frequency, and providing the best marketing tools for its sellers.

The company is de-prioritizing other projects--Etsy did not respond by press time when asked for specifics on which projects--and said it will not be doing any brand marketing for the rest of the year.

The majority of the 140 positions eliminated were at Etsy’s Brooklyn headquarters in marketing, product management, and general and administrative.

Etsy, which was incorporated in 2006 and went public in 2015, faces increasing competition from Amazon Handmade, the section of Amazon.com the online retail behemoth launched in October 2015 to compete with Etsy.

Amazon snatched up Martha Stewart’s handmade goods market, American Made, just a few months after Handmade opened and began taking aim at the multi-billion-dollar bridal market last month with the launch of the Handmade Wedding Shop. The online store sells engagement rings and bands, among other wedding wares.

Back in May, Etsy’s board forced out CEO Chad Dickerson and announced the first round of layoffs amid slowing sales growth and calls to cut costs. Dickerson was replaced by board member Josh Silverman, who had been an executive at American Express and the CEO of Skype.

In the company statement issued Wednesday announcing the layoffs, Silverman said: “My conviction that Etsy has a unique opportunity within the ecommerce space has intensified during my initial weeks as CEO … By focusing on our ‘vital few’ initiatives, we will be a more disciplined company that is better positioned to create the world’s most compelling buying and selling experience.”