Match Group layoffs: Tinder parent company cuts jobs amid subscriber decline

Tinder’s parent company Match Group has seen a decline in subscriber numbers leading to plans to cut 6% of its approximately 2,600 strong global workforce.

In its quarterly earnings report for Q2, the company shares how ‘Tinder Payers’ has reduced by “8% Y/Y to 9.6 million.” This means fewer people are paying to find love on the platform that has numerous subscription levels.

In the same report, the company explains how changes will be made to improve growth and the bottom line. This includes “total workforce reductions of approximately 6% globally,” which they say will “result in annual cost savings of approximately $13 million.”

It isn’t yet clear which jobs will face the cut, nor if it’ll be focused on certain regions worldwide.

This dip in the figures comes as Tinder continues to face challenges from competitors like Bumble and Hinge. The latter is owned by the same parent company.

In the ‘direct revenue’ figures, the dating company was found to be up 1% in comparison to Hinge which saw a 48% increase versus the prior year quarter.

Changes to follow for Tinder as detailed in a letter to shareholders

With high pressure on the online dating platform to perform as expected by investors, a letter to shareholders says there will be an “intense focus on innovation to drive growth.”

This will include re-deploying some of Match Group’s talent who have distinct expertise in artificial intelligence to Azar, Tinder, and Hinge.

“Given the major opportunity that AI presents to improve the entire dating journey and build new experiences, we think it’s compelling to deploy our best talent in these areas.”

In another effort to make change, the team will be focused on improving user outcomes with women being the first priority.

“Later this Summer, Tinder intends to begin testing a new feature designed to provide highly curated recommendations.

“Tinder plans to subsequently integrate AI capabilities into this feature to contextualize matches and drive increased relevancy.”

The app also recently saw the introduction of the AI-driven feature ‘Photo Selector.’ The tool automatically suggests the best photos from a user’s camera roll and aims to speed up profile quality.

Image Credit: Via Ideogram