Expedia to lay off 1,500 workers amid slower travel demand
Expedia Group is eliminating around 1,500 jobs, which is about 9% of its global workforce, following a leadership change announcement earlier this month. The Seattle-based travel giant had 17,100 employees in over 50 countries by the end of 2023, with nearly half of them working in technology roles. The job cuts come as Expedia experienced underwhelming holiday results and provided a weaker-than-anticipated forecast for the current quarter.
Focus on boosting sales after technical upgrades
After concentrating on technical improvements for the past two years, Expedia is now focusing on increasing sales in 2024. The company's fourth-quarter gross bookings amounted to $21.7 billion, falling short of analysts' average prediction of $22 billion. While Expedia's consumer business has seen single-digit revenue growth in recent quarters, its enterprise division has been delivering double-digit gains. The latter offers advertising and travel technology to corporate clients and operates travel booking websites for major brands like Walmart and American Express.
Leadership change and restructuring charges
Starting May 13, 2024, Ariane Gorin will replace Peter Kern as Expedia's CEO. The company anticipates total pre-tax charges and cash expenditures related to restructuring efforts between $80 million and $100 million. Travel companies are adjusting expectations for 2024, suggesting that demand will grow at a slower pace this year. Expedia, along with online travel competitors such as Airbnb and Booking Holdings, is grappling with moderating travel growth as post-pandemic pent-up demand seems to be losing momentum.
Layoffs continue unabated in 2024
In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic surge, thousands of companies have been laying off employees. According to Layoffs.fyi, the trend continues this year with at least 170 tech companies having fired over 42,450 workers so far. In 2022, 1,064 companies had laid off 165,269 workers, while 1,190 companies fired 262,915 workers last year.
