It's Bad News For 'Personal' Social Networking As Path Lays Off 20 Percent Of Staff
by Joe White
October 16, 2013
The more "personal" social network Path has laid off 13 members of staff, as co-founder and chief executive officer Dave Morin looks ahead to the app's forthcoming major update, Path 4.0.
Given that the 13 fired employees represent 20 percent of Path's workforce, this is a big move. Path, however, affirms that it isn't a reflection of hard times for the social network, and firmly played down the staff layoffs in a comment made to ValleyWag:
It's just a realignment of the company. I wouldn't read anything into it. The business is strong we have 20 million users.The spokesperson added: "We're working to realign the company to support continued innovation and Path 4.0." Last month, Path updated its iOS application adding "Path Premium" - a subscription-based offering, whereby users can access a number of additional features for $4.99 per quarter, or $14.99 per year. Though the social network's goal appeared to revolve around making money from its users, Path's recent layoffs indicate that this particular move hasn't been successful. Now, Morin is reportedly seeking a new round of funding for his company, and supports this request with reference to Path's 20 million users. Profitability for Path, however, looks as if it's going to be incredibly difficult to establish, let alone sustain. See also: Get Ready: Apple Asks Mac Developers To Submit Apps For OS X Mavericks, Oyster, The So-Called "Netflix For Books," Splashes Into iPad With Universal Update, and Lost And Found: Search Makes Its Comeback In Official Vimeo App For iPhone.
