It’s a bad year for workers in the creator economy, as layoffs have been happening left, right, and center. Now, it’s YouTube’s turn to be impacted.
The partnerships side of YouTube hasn’t been touched in a decade, but recent changes following a round of YouTube layoffs to the creator management and operations teams will lead to approximately 100 job losses, as first reported by Tubefilter on Jan. 17.
This news of YouTube layoffs is not only devastating for the workers who have lost their jobs but also frightening for creators. Given the number of creators who’ve struggled to get a human on the line to explain why they have gotten banned, restricted, or copystriked, the loss in manpower is scary.
But supposedly, these changes are designed to streamline and centralize YouTube’s creator management operations, with each country having its own dedicated leadership and teams. Sources also told Tubefilter that YouTube’s support team is splitting in two, with a dedicated creator support team being the result.
So, hypothetically, this restructuring could potentially give creators more specialized support from YouTube. (Although, perhaps this could have been done without layoffs.)
In an internal staff memo obtained by Tubefilter, Mary Ellen Coe, YouTube’s chief business officer, emphasized how the company would prioritize YouTube’s creator base moving forward… And AI. Obviously.
“As we have seen the past few years, our creator base is broadening and diversifying, from our most experienced creators to a new generation of casual creators posting on YouTube for the first time,” Coe wrote in the memo about the layoffs.
“Gen[erative] AI tools will further fuel new forms of creativity and bring even more creators to the platform. At the same time, our subscription businesses have momentum, powered by partnerships with music, sports, and media companies,” Coe continued. “Change is never easy, but I am confident these will help us invest our capabilities and expand our impact for YouTube for many years to come.”
Now, the only thing left to do is wait and see if these changes will have their desired impact on creators. But knowing the YouTube team is already stretched thin, we’re not holding our breaths.
