Amazon Streamlines Wondery Podcast Division, Letting Go of 110 Employees Amidst Evolution in Podcast Landscape

Amazon announced significant changes within its podcast division, Wondery, as part of a broader reorganization of its audio unit. In an internal memo obtained by media outlets, Steve Boom, Vice President of Audio, Twitch, and Games at Amazon, revealed that the company is consolidating some Wondery units under Audible’s audiobook and podcasting division.

According to the memo, Jen Sargent, CEO of Wondery, will be stepping down from her role. The restructuring will result in some position terminations, with approximately 110 employees set to be let go, according to Bloomberg’s initial report on the layoffs. Amazon has yet to comment on the scale of job cuts.

The decision comes about five years after Amazon acquired Wondery as part of an initiative to expand its library of original audio content. Over the years, Wondery has garnered recognition for popular shows such as “Dirty John” and “Dr. Death.”

Recently, Wondery secured several lucrative licensing deals with podcasts like “New Heights,” hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce, and Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert.”

In the restructuring process, Amazon aims to better integrate Wondery by separating the teams responsible for narrative podcasts from those developing creator-led shows. The narrative podcasting unit will consolidate under Audible, while creator-led content will move to a new unit within Boom’s organization called “creator services.”

The shift in strategy comes amidst increased competition in the podcast landscape, particularly with video podcasts gaining popularity on Alphabet’s YouTube. The rise of video podcasts necessitates different strategies for discovery, growth, and monetization compared to audio-first, narrative series.

Boom noted in the memo that “the podcast landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years.”