Etsy lays off 12% of worker as part of restructuring plan 

By Arriana McLymore

NEW YORK, NY, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Crafting marketplace Etsy Inc. is laying off approximately 220 employees, or 12% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring plan it hopes will "improve coordination and speed of decision-making," the company said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Wednesday. 

The layoffs will mostly impact workers in the product and engineering department, Chief Executive Kruti Patel Goyal said in an email to employees. 

"Cost savings are a consequence of these changes, but they are not the objective. We didn't start this work with a cost reduction target or a goal of making Etsy smaller," she said. "You'll continue to see us invest in the business and the team and hire in areas that are important to our long-term strategy."

Patel Goyal said that the cuts also "weren't driven by AI."

"At the same time, AI is changing how all of us work, and it will continue to change how we build products and solve problems," Patel Goyal said. "As the tools available to us evolve, the skills we need, the ways we work together, and the capabilities we build across Etsy must evolve as well."

Laid-off workers will receive at least 16 weeks of severance pay, with additional pay based on tenure, continued healthcare support for up to 12 months and other benefits. 

The company's audit committee also approved a new stock repurchase program that authorizes Etsy to repurchase up to an additional $2 billion of its common stock, according to the SEC filing. 

Etsy will report results on Thursday before market open. 

(Reporting by Arriana McLymore in New York City; Editing by Aurora Ellis)