Santa Barbara–Based Sonos Lays Off 200 Employees
Disastrous App Update Caused CEO to Resign in January
Santa Barbara–based audio equipment manufacturer Sonos announced it will lay off 12 percent of its workforce, less than a month after the departure of its former CEO Patrick Spence. Equivalent to the loss of approximately 200 employees, including 50 managers and executives, interim CEO Tom Conrad explained in a letter to the staff on February 5 that the decision was an effort to streamline operations and improve efficiency in product development.
Conrad emphasized the company’s decision to focus on fewer projects with larger impact and to accelerate the pace of innovation while shrinking the strain on resources. “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,” Conrad wrote. He acknowledged the difficulty of the decision but stressed it was necessary to position Sonos for long-term growth amid current market conditions.
The layoffs follow the company’s challenges after an app update on May 7, 2024, caused a backlash. The update had aimed to improve the customer experience but faced harsh criticism for its overall problematic performance. Sonos stock fell 40 percent following the app’s release date. Spence, the former CEO of eight years, resigned on January 13.
The app was also released in alignment with the company’s first headphones, which received largely negative feedback given its association with the app.
Despite these setbacks, Sonos delivered stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings for 2025, resulting in a generated revenue of $551 million, according to the Pacific Coast Business Times. This marks a decline from the $612.8 million generated in the same quarter last year but still surpassed analyst’s expectations.
In his letter to the company, Conrad explained that he remained focused on steering Sonos through this transitional period, emphasizing that the layoffs are in the company’s best interests to improve internal processes.