‘More Efficient, Agile and Flexible’: A Sirius XM Pledge Cuts Jobs

Add subscription radio company Sirius XM to the list of companies that are engaging in reduction-in-force efforts as a way to drive long-term revenue growth for the public traded company.

The company’s CEO, Jennifer Witz, has disclosed in an internal memo that roughly 160 jobs will be eliminated at the home of Howard Stern and curated music channels from artists including John Mayer and Kelly Clarkson.

A SiriusXM spokesperson confirmed to RBR+TVBR on Monday that “several organizational changes in support of the company’s long-term objectives” were announced. “As a result of these decisions, the company will be reducing its workforce by less than 3%.”

What Sirius XM did not share was that, as of December 31, 2023, it had 5,680 full-time and part-time employees — information shared in its annual financial report filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

In the memo to staff members, Witz said, “We made significant progress on the transformation of our business in 2023, but we have just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible here at SiriusXM. To continue on our path to future subscriber growth and sustain our company’s success as the competitive landscape evolves, it’s imperative that we become even more efficient, agile, and flexible. Therefore, today we are making several organizational changes, including the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles, which will allow us to move faster and collaborate more effectively in support of our long-term objectives. From uniting teams and better aligning initiatives, to investing in new technologies that will power our transformation, we are focused on increasing efficiencies and redeploying resources to support the strategic priorities of our business.”

The latest job losses follow the decision 11 months ago to part with roughly 8% of its employees, totaling 475 individuals.

As of 1:26pm Eastern, Sirius XM shares were up 2.9% to $5.04. The company on February 1 released its Q4 2023 earnings report, and it showed its earnings per share of $0.09 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.07. However, revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.42%.