Discord cutting 4% of staff as part of restructuring

Discord is trimming its headcount as the voice, video, and text app reorganizes some of its business units.

According to news outlets, including Business Insider, the company has laid off nearly 40 employees, or four per cent of its total workforce.

The cuts have affected staff on Discord’s marketing, design, and entertainment partnership teams.

“[We] are ensuring that those impacted are being supported,” a company spokesperson told the publication.

“We are focused on the long-term growth of the business and delivering on our mission.”

It remains unclear if any Canadian employees have been let go. Discord’s LinkedIn page claims that it has more than 60 workers in Canada.

Major tech layoffs continue

Discord joins the growing list of major North American tech companies that have announced sweeping layoffs in 2023.

Big names, including Telus, Amazon, Microsoft, Rogers, Ritual, Meta, and Spotify, are significantly scaling back their staffing levels as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

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Termination agreements for Discord employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at Discord are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

People working “on contract” or as a contractor may also be owed severance pay — given that many employees in Canada are often misclassified as independent contractors.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance pay technology industry employees
• Rights to severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance entitlements during mass layoffs

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru covers basic but often overlooked facts about terminations on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.

In some cases, employers pressure staff into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.