Roomba vacuum maker iRobot to lay off 7% of workforce as revenue sinks

Robot vacuum cleaner maker iRobot has announced to cut around 7 per cent of its workforce or about 85 employees.

The maker of Roomba robot vacuum had 1,254 employees as of December 31, 2022.

Announcing its fourth quarter results, the company said that it has initiated a new restructuring program that is expected to deliver net annualised savings of approximately $14 million.

"As part of this restructuring, the company plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 7 per cent, or approximately 85 employees, primarily by streamlining certain functions across the company," said iRobot.

In addition to the reduction in force, iRobot's 2023 operating plan incorporates scaled back working media and other demand-generation activities, limited investment in non-robotic product categories and "minimal new hiring plans in 2023".

The revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 was $357.9 million, compared with $455.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Full-year 2022 revenue of $1,183.4 million declined 24 per cent from $1,565.0 million in 2021, said the company.

In August last year, the consumer robot company, acquired by Amazon for $1.7 billion, laid off 10 per cent of its workforce -- nearly 140 workers.

The company had said that to better align its cost structure with near-term revenue, it was in the process of initiating a "restructuring of its operations".

iRobot introduced the first Roomba robot vacuum in 2002 and has sold millions of robots worldwide for cleaning, mapping and navigation.

--IANS

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