Oakland-based online streaming radio company Pandora has been on a roll this fall, first purchasing San Francisco-based online ticket vendor Ticketfly for $450 million in October, then buying up Rdio, also based in SF, last month for $75 million contingent on the ailing five-year-old company receiving bankruptcy protection. And don't forget the licensing deal Pandora was finally able to come to with Sony/ATV after several contentious, litigious years.
But, although Pandora suggested it would absorb Rdio's workforce into their 1,000 employee headquarters, we now learn via a report from the Business Times reports, tipped off by a WARN report, that 123 San Francisco Rdio workers will lose their jobs.
"As is required by law, Rdio issued WARN notices of layoffs to all 123 employees in the United States,' said an Rdio spokeswoman said in a statement this morning. "Pandora has announced plans to hire approximately 100 of our employees after the bankruptcy court approves the transaction and the deal closes, which means the majority of Rdio employees will continue having jobs."
“We are defining the next chapter of Pandora’s growth story,” Brian McAndrews, Pandora’s CEO had said. “Adding Rdio’s impressive technology and talented people will fast-track new dimensions and enhancements to our service.”
Venturebeat reports that, according to sources familiar with the matter, between 140 and 180 Rdio workers could lose their jobs in the aggregate.
“We plan to substantially broaden our subscription business, rolling out a multi-tier product offering," added McAndrews. "And today’s announcement of adding employees and assets from Rdio brings us much closer to this goal, and allows us to accelerate our product strategy significantly."
Previously: In A Move To Compete Directly With Spotify, Pandora Buys Rdio