Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Last week’s layoffs at Spotify were a jolt for the audio industry. Eleven shows were axed, and employees were blindsided by the news. The company framed it as a small change, with Spotify spokesperson Grey Munford saying that less than 5 percent of original podcast staffers were cut or reassigned. But the pain is being felt acutely at Gimlet and Parcast — nearly one-third of the members of each studio’s union were cut.
The layoffs come at a precarious time. After years of growth in audio, some companies that took a step (or leap) into podcasting are scaling back in the face of worsening economic conditions. In September, CNN laid off some of its podcast employees. Last week, Axios reported that radio giant Audacy is looking at selling…