DUMBO Tech Company Etsy Fires 140 People In Second Round Of 2017 Layoffs

DUMBO, BROOKLYN — Etsy, the biggest tech company in the borough, laid off fifteen percent of its staff this week.

The DUMBO-based arts-and-crafts online retailer let 140 people go, primarily from the marketing and product management departments, said Etsy CEO Josh Silverman in a statement.

"We took decisive steps to double down on the fewest, highest-impact initiatives in our core marketplace while de-prioritizing other projects and streamlining our resources,” said Silverman.

“We are moving forward with a more nimble structure that supports our current business needs and allows for faster execution so we can better serve creative entrepreneurs around the world."

The layoffs came just one month after Etsy’s former CEO Chad Dickerson retired and his replacement, Silverman, cut 80 people from the staff, reducing it to 78 percent of what it was at the end of 2016, according to the statement.

Etsy moved to DUMBO in 2014 and leased a 200,000-square-foot office space at 117 Adams St. from Jared Kushner’s Kushner Companies in 2016, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

The layoffs will cost the company between $6 million and $8.8 million in severance packages.

Photo courtesy of Charles & Hudson/Flickr