Jack Dorsey says layoffs are coming at streaming music app Tidal – leaked email

The CEO of Block, the owner of the music streaming platform, said this in a note to employees on Wednesday morning, seen by Assets that Tidal needs to function “like a startup again.” This requires organizations to operate with a “much smaller team” across the enterprise, Dorsey said.

“So we will be parting ways with some people on our team,” Dorsey explained in the note. “We will lead in technology and design and completely eliminate product management and product marketing functions. We are reducing the size of our design team and the foundational roles that support TIDAL, and will consider reducing engineering in the next few weeks as we have more clarity on leadership going forward.”

Dorsey did not provide details on the number of people who will be affected by the job cuts. However, company insiders speculate that up to 100 employees could be laid off, which would be about a quarter of Tidal's workforce.

This is the second layoff at Tidal in less than a year. The streamer cut 10% of its staff in December 2023. And in July, Dorsey told Block employees to prepare for a restructuring of the entire company to return Block “to the way we started as a company,” Fortune reported at Time.

Block acquired a majority stake in Tidal in 2021 for around $300 million. The streaming music service was founded by Jay-Z but has struggled to gain traction amid competition from Spotify and Apple Music. In 2023, a judge dismissed a shareholder lawsuit against Block over the acquisition, according to Reuters, but noted that “on all facets it appeared to be a terrible business decision.”

A Tidal spokesperson said in a statement to Fortune: “We have made some internal changes to our TIDAL team to focus on best serving artists.” This included eliminating some roles in our business and design teams. We will be smaller, focus on fewer things and take a no-compromise approach to product development.”

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