Patreon is laying off 20% of its staff. Read the memo its CEO sent to employees.

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I’ll explain each below.1. The workforce reductionNothing about our core business has changed — it remains strong and consistent:

• More than 300,000 creators in nearly every country in the world are earning money on our platform.
• Creators are earning billions of dollars each year on Patreon, and those earnings have continued to exhibit steady, strong growth.
• Creators, members, revenue, and processing volume continue to show strong, consistent growth every month.

On top of that, our transformation to becoming a media and community network is starting to work:

• Our network is now sending 1.5M new members to creators every month.
• Creators have added ~200M free memberships over the past 3 years.
• Feed-attributed memberships are up more than 5X since our network launch.

But our transformation is going to take time. We are setting our sights on massive problems: the attention economy is optimizing for addiction instead of long term relationships. Creators are finding it increasingly difficult to reach their followers and build strong communities. The legacy social platforms are locking creators into their systems instead of giving them independence. There is no company better positioned than Patreon to tackle these problems.At the same time, the market in which we operate has undergone profound change over the last 6 months. We need to adjust our cost structure to ensure that we remain a stable, dependable rock for our creators as we work toward our long term ambition. The changes we’re making today are painful, but they’re necessary to ensure that Patreon can take the time we need to address the above problems from a position of strength.2. Changing our organizational structure and how we workWe’re making a number of changes to our organizational structure and how we work. Specifically, we’re flattening the organization, refocusing teams on our top priorities, and evolving key aspects of our operations to make us faster at adapting to change.We’re making those changes because with a smaller team, we need a new organizational structure to continue executing effectively on our strategy and priorities, which are not changing. We remain focused on:

• Improving core creator and fan experiences on the platform, and
• Helping creators grow their audiences and businesses through our network

In addition, I want us to have increased agility as a company. AI has fundamentally transformed the tech industry, the pace of change has never been more intense, and I expect it to get even faster. Each of us will play a role in redefining how we work together as the nature of our work continues to change over time.AI is not a replacement for human creativityOne of the most discussed questions over the last few months has been whether AI is replacing humans.To be clear about the impact of AI on today’s decision: we are not making the above changes because we believe AI replaces humans.The more we have learned to use these new tools, the clearer it has become that they are not substitutes for the creativity, judgment, detail orientation, or craftsmanship that our teammates have in spades, nor do they replace the desire for human connection that all of us cherish so deeply. That’s my personal opinion, but more importantly, it’s the foundation of Patreon’s strategy: our product vision and business are both predicated on the value of human creativity and human connection.AI has fundamentally transformed the tech industry, though, including how we work, how we build products, how we communicate, and more. That does have an impact on how we operate and organize.Logistics for TodayTo our teammates leaving:In the email you receive from our People team, you’ll find details about next steps, severance packages, and information about how to connect with a member of the People team if you have any questions. You’ll also receive a separate message from a member of our senior leadership team inviting you to a personal call if you would like.You’ll have access to your Patreon laptop and Slack through 5PM PT today. Access to all other internal systems will be removed, because we want to ensure we protect our creators and their businesses.I know how important it is for folks to be able to say goodbye, so we’ve created a #gratitude-and-farewell Slack channel as a place for all of us to connect, if you feel comfortable.Severance details:We’ve prepared a severance package to support impacted employees through this transition:

• 16 weeks of pay starting from today, including remaining on payroll through our August 20th vesting date.
• One additional week of pay for every full year worked at the company.
• Additional cash payment to accommodate a) recent hires who haven’t reached their 1-year cliff, and b) more-tenured teammates who haven’t yet received their 2026 refresh grant.
• Healthcare coverage through the end of the year for eligible employees and families.
• A $1,500 stipend to replace your company laptop.

Thank you for everything you’ve given our creators, fans, and this company. Your contributions have made a massive difference in the lives of so many people, and I’m deeply grateful for the energy, craft, and care you’ve put into your work. That work is now a part of Patreon and will continue to benefit creators and their communities for years to come.To our teammates remaining:The focus for today will be on our departing teammates, but we’ve scheduled a short video call for those of us remaining to be together as a team. Tomorrow, we’ll have an all hands and Q&A to review the details of the reorganization and changes to how we work. Next week, we’ll get together in person as planned to dive deeper on our H2 plans.For over a decade, Patreon has been growing and evolving to ensure that creators are properly compensated for the value they create in the world. We have successfully adapted and thrived through recessions, the chaos of online media, and multiple market shifts. We continue to come out the other side stronger than before, and that’s exactly what we’ll do again.