Discord is laying off 170 employees after getting too big

The layoffs are continuing this week, as Discord has cut 170 workers (or 17 percent) from its staff.

In a memo obtained by The Verge, CEO Jason Citron said the reductions would get the company to "sharpen our focus...and bring more agility." The cuts also address the company's ballooning headcount, which he claimed grew too fast.

Since 2020, he explained, the Discord team has grown to five times its size. With that staff, the company "took on more projects and became less efficient in how we operated."

Discord's place in games

In recent years, Discord has gradually evolved into a fixture of modern games. The voice app released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox systems, and developers have pivoted to it over forums as a community hub.

At the same time, it's also taken a more community and developer-focused bent. App makers can now monetize their works and revived its previously scrapped launcher for in-app games.

Discord's layoffs were preceded earlier in the week by Twitch, which let go of nearly 500 workers. Cuts were also made at VR developer Archiact, and at engine maker Unity.