Eventbrite, Inc. (NYSE: EB), a global ticketing and experience technology platform, today announced an expense reduction plan to better position the company to weather the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of that plan, the company will reduce its global workforce by 45%. Together with other cost-savings measures, the plan is expected to yield at least $100 million in annualized expense savings. The expense measures are broad-based and include cash compensation reductions for the CEO and executive staff.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive disruption to the live entertainment and experiences economy and we are taking significant action to navigate this unprecedented time,” said Julia Hartz, Eventbrite’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We are saddened to see many members of our team depart the company and we are supporting them in every way we possibly can during this tumultuous time. I want to personally thank our talented and dedicated teammates for contributing towards building the leading platform for independent creators.”
The Company expects to incur restructuring charges related to the workforce reduction of $10-14 million on a pre-tax basis. Of that amount, $7-10 million is related to severance costs and $3-4 million is related to facilities and fixed assets. The Company expects the majority of these charges to be incurred in the second quarter of 2020, with most of the balance expected to be incurred in the remainder of 2020. Of the total costs expected to be incurred, $7-10 million is expected to result in future cash expenditures. The company will provide additional detail on business trends and its plans when it reports first quarter results. Eventbrite previously suspended its Business Outlook for the first quarter and full year of 2020 on March 16, 2020.
Source: Eventbrite