CEO Jason Citron announced in an internal memo that the company has grown too quickly in recent years and therefore needs to let go of 17 percent of its workforce. Discord aims to "sharpen its focus and improve the way we collaborate to bring more agility to our organization." The layoffs were announced today during an all-hands meeting and in an internal memo available to me. They will affect 170 employees from various departments. Based on Citron's message to the employees and my understanding of the business, Discord is not financially on the edge, although it is not yet profitable and continues to try to revive user growth after a surge during the pandemic.

In his memo to employees, which you can read in full below, Citron wrote that Discord had grown too quickly in recent years - a recognition that has been widespread among tech CEOs lately. "We have grown quickly and expanded our workforce even faster, from 2020 to today by five times," Citron wrote.

As a result, we have taken on more projects and have become less efficient in our work. The layoffs are the largest in Discord's history, following the messaging service's decision to lay off 4 percent of its employees last August. They are part of the wave of layoffs that continue to affect the tech industry, including deep cuts at Google and Amazon this week. Discord has raised a total of around $1 billion in investments.

It has over $700 million in the account and the goal of becoming profitable this year, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company has been considering going public since rejecting a $12 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft in 2021, but I have learned that it is far from ready.

Below you will find Citron's complete memo to employees announcing the layoffs.

Hello everyone,

I would like to address what we have just discussed at our company meeting and share some background information. Today, we are making the unfortunate and difficult decision to reduce the size of the Discord staff by 17 percent.

This means that we have to part ways with 170 of our talented colleagues. This is a decision we did not make lightly, but we are convinced that it will help us better serve our users, our business, and our mission in the long run.

Where we stand now and how we got here.

Our company has changed significantly and grown in recent years. We can all be truly proud of what we have achieved together in reaching the millions of people who use Discord every day to spend time with their friends. At the same time, we need to confront some uncomfortable truths.

We have grown quickly and expanded our workforce even faster, increasing it fivefold from 2020 to today. As a result, we have taken on more projects and have become less efficient in our work. Today, we are becoming increasingly aware of the need to sharpen our focus and improve the way we collaborate in order to bring more agility to our organization.

That was a key factor in the decision to reduce the size of our workforce. Although it is difficult, I am confident that this will put us in the best position to continue building a strong and profitable company in the future, offering our users great products and supporting our mission.

What happens next:

I am sure that all of you are curious to find out what this means for each and every one of you.

- By 10:30 am Pacific Time, you will receive an email. In it, you will find out whether your employment is affected by these cuts or not.

The management level will meet with the departed team members at 11:00 am Pacific Time to discuss the next steps.

We will meet again this afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time to discuss what happens next for all remaining employees.

How we take care of our colleagues:

It is particularly important to me that we support the team members who have left during this difficult time and provide them with a comprehensive transition period as they prepare for future employment.

Therefore, we offer you the following:

- Five months' salary (plus an additional week for every full year at Discord).

- Five months continuation of benefits.

Three months of outplacement services.

Shares that mature on February 1, 2024.

Continuous access to Modern Health until the end of 2024 and more.

I would like to conclude with deepest appreciation and gratitude for those who have left us. Discord has become better through your contributions and the passion you have brought in fulfilling our users, our company, and each one of us.

Thank you for everything.

It is incredibly difficult to say goodbye to respected colleagues, many of whom have become friends. I hope that working on and with our product has contributed to maintaining and even strengthening these connections beyond the "boundaries" of any particular place.

Take care of yourselves and let's take care of each other in this especially challenging time.

Jason.