Akamai Layoffs Hit Nearly 3% of Global Workforce

Akamai layoffs are impacting nearly 300 workers as the company focuses on its highest growth areas and sustaining profitability.

The Akamai layoffs were reported as part of the company’s financial results for the first quarter that ended March 31. According to the Boston Globe, nearly 300 workers are losing their jobs.

Akamai sent us the following statement:

“In order to concentrate our investments and resources in our highest growth areas of security and cloud computing, and to sustain our profitability targets during this challenging macroeconomic environment, Akamai has implemented a reduction of a little less than 3% of its workforce across the globe. We are not providing geographic-nor organization-specific details of the workforce reduction, but can confirm that less than 3% of our workforce globally was impacted.”

Akamai recorded a $45 million restructuring charge in the first quarter. This charge is primarily related to severance costs in connection with the layoffs. In addition, the company continues to record facility-related charges as it reduces its real estate footprint due to its flexible workspace strategy.

Akamai Layoffs Latest Among Numerous Layoffs This Year

Akamai is the latest company doing business in the channel to announce layoffs. Job cuts have impacted thousands of workers since the start of the year. Among the most recent layoffs are Dropbox, Red Hat, CDW and F5.

For the first quarter, Akamai reported $916 million in revenue, a 1% increase over the year-ago quarter. But profit was just $97 million, a 27% decrease.

Akamai’s Tom Leighton

“Akamai had a strong start to 2023, with both revenue and earnings above our expectations,” said Tom Leighton, Akamai’s CEO. “We reached a significant milestone during the first quarter when, for the first time in Akamai’s 25-year history, security became our largest revenue stream. Looking ahead, we remain committed to driving efficiency and profitability as we focus investment in areas with the strongest potential for future growth.”

Last month, Akamai announced it’s buying Neosec, an API detection and response platform based on data and behavioral analytics, for stronger API security. Neosec’s API security solution adds to Akamai’s application and API security portfolio by extending its visibility into the growing API threat landscape.