Expedia Group could shed up to 1,500 jobs — roughly 9% of its most recently reported employee count — as it looks to further streamline operations and drive efficiency.
Full details have not been released at this point, but earlier this month during the company's fourth quarter and full-year 2023 earnings call, chief financial officer Julie Whalen discussed the potential to "optimize our cost structure and therefore improve margins."
She said savings were expected now that the company has completed much of its "re-platforming" adding, "We expect to continue to drive operating efficiencies and cost of sales across our customer support and other operations. And with overhead expenses, as we have said, we expect to drive savings this year as we deprecate systems and redeploy resources now that the bulk of our re-platforming is in the rearview mirror."
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The comments were made at the same time as the announcement that CEO Peter Kern would be stepping down in mid-May with Ariane Gorin, currently president of Expedia for Business, taking up the reins.
A spokesperson has now confirmed that 1,500 roles are expected to be impacted globally. The statement in full reads: "Given the recent completion of many significant technical milestones in Expedia Group’s transformation, the business continues to evaluate the appropriate allocation of resources to ensure the most important work continues to be prioritized. As a result, this year we will be reviewing our operations which we expect will result in approximately 1,500 roles being impacted across the globe. While this review will result in the elimination of some roles, it also allows the company to invest in core strategic areas for growth. Consultation with local employee representatives, where applicable, will occur before making any final decisions."
Last year Expedia Group cut jobs across a number of departments including travel operations, support, IT, recruiting, marketing and B2B services. At the time the company did not provide a specific number but described the cuts as "immaterial to the business."
A stock exchange filing said pre-tax charges and cash expenditure linked to the restructuring are expected to be between $80 million to $100 million, mainly consisting of severance and compensation benefits costs.