According to VGC , chat platform Discord has just made the difficult decision to cut 17% of its workforce, equivalent to 170 people. The move comes as part of an effort to restructure the organization and improve operational efficiency.

“This was not an easy decision, but we believe it is necessary to better serve our users, our business, and our mission over the long term,” CEO Jason Citron said in an internal memo.

“Discord has changed and grown significantly over the past few years,” he explained. “We should all be proud of what we’ve accomplished together, serving the millions of people who use Discord every day to connect with their friends. However, we also have to face some difficult realities. As we’ve grown so rapidly, our team has grown fivefold since 2020. This has led to us taking on more projects and being less efficient.”

"Therefore, we need to increase our focus and improve the way we work, to bring more flexibility to the organization. This is the main reason for the decision to reduce the number of employees."

This is the largest layoff in Discord’s history, after the company cut 4% of its workforce last summer. This latest round of layoffs comes amid a difficult period for the gaming and tech industries in general, with an estimated 9,000 gaming industry employees losing their jobs last year alone.