Etsy Lays Off 12 Percent of Staff and Authorizes $2 Billion Buyback

Etsy Inc. is laying off approximately 220 employees, representing 12% of its total workforce, as part of a restructuring plan designed to increase the speed of decision-making and improve internal coordination. Chief Executive Kruti Patel Goyal announced that the reductions primarily affect the product and engineering departments. She clarified that the layoffs were not driven by artificial intelligence, although she acknowledged that AI continues to change how the company develops products.

Severance packages for affected staff include a minimum of 16 weeks of pay, additional compensation based on tenure, and healthcare support for up to 12 months. Goyal emphasized that the restructuring aims to evolve the company's capabilities and ways of working rather than meeting a specific cost reduction target.

Concurrent with these workforce reductions, the company's audit committee approved a stock repurchase program authorizing Etsy to buy back up to $2 billion of its common stock. The company filed official notice of both the restructuring and the buyback program with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.