GoPro Terminates Full-Time Workers In 2nd Round Of Layoffs

Just months after dropping a bombshell by cutting 15 percent of its workforce, GoPro is once again back to terminating more people from its manpower. The action camera company announced Wednesday that it has cut 270 jobs including full-time workers in hopes of reducing its operating expenses while also achieving profitability.

Back in December 2016, GoPro listed on its website that it has 1,552 employees, so now it is functioning with less than 1,300 workers. The second layoff, according to the company, was done after a thorough review of its operations. GoPro founder Nicholas Woodman maintained that the layoffs this week would help the company be on track of achieving its profitability goals this year, according to Business Insider.

"Today we are updating revenue guidance for the first quarter of 2017," a statement from the company read. "We now expect to deliver revenue in the upper end of our guidance range of between $190 million and $210 million." The cost of the new restructuring is estimated to be at $10 million, but most of this would be for severance costs.

Charles Prober, who was named CEO early this year, said they are positive about this move. “We are confident that we are not making those trade-offs,” he said during a brief conference call with analysts. “By being more focused we feel we are improving our efficiency and doing fewer things, better.”

The announcement comes months after the company launched the Karma drone last September and recalled around 2,500 units amid complaints of the device losing power mid-flight. It also comes after the company declared the closure of its entertainment division, as first reported by MarketWatch.

It’s been a tough road for GoPro to do better than its rivals, but analysts and investors are hoping for new products launching this year to change that. Woodman pointed out to analysts that the company launched a drone, new cameras and an editing software last year. He then added that so far new products are succeeding for customers. “We have shifted from a revolutionary year to an evolutionary year. It is far less risky to evolve than to be revolutionary,” he said.