iRobot is implementing another round of layoffs, cutting 105 jobs, or roughly 16% of its workforce, as part of what it calls an “operational restructuring plan.
This news follows a previous wave of cuts earlier this year when iRobot let go of approximately 350 employees—around 31% of its workforce—after its planned acquisition by Amazon was called off.
Amazon had intended to acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion, but the companies mutually decided to end the agreement due to expected regulatory obstacles in the EU. As a result, Amazon paid iRobot a $94 million termination fee.
During iRobot’s Q3 2024 earnings call, CEO Gary Cohen discussed the latest job cuts, emphasizing that the company’s new approach is streamlining operations and partnerships to deliver new products with fewer resources.
“These moves, while challenging, have fundamentally changed the way we work with our partners to efficiently develop and build our robots,” Cohen stated. “Our new operating model enables a significant increase in product launches with less than half the internal resources and about a third of the cost.”
So far this year, iRobot has reduced its workforce by roughly 50% as it reshapes its business to improve efficiency and remain competitive.
