Mini-camera maker GoPro announced plans Wednesday to trim another 270 jobs in a quest to become profitable.
GoPro, which soared to popularity with cameras used for social media and extreme sports photography, said the new round of cuts is part of an internal reorganization to “do fewer things better.”
It follows a cut in November of 15 percent of GoPro’s staff, about 200 jobs at the time.
Chief executive Nick Woodman said GoPro last year did a “Herculean job” of rolling out cloud connect cameras, mobile editing applications, an online platform for editing or sharing videos, and a Karma drone designed to carry its cameras.
“We have shifted from a revolutionary year last year to an evolutionary year this year,” Woodman said on a conference call.
“It is far less risky to evolve than to be revolutionary; we feel we are more capable to expand the consumer experience with the reduced team that we have now.”
He stressed that the company was facing no new problems, with revenue on the rise, and that the belt-tightening was motivated by a drive to become profitable.
GoPro shares jumped more than 8 percent to $7.98 in after-market trades that followed word of the cost-cutting efforts.
Woodman said that revenue in the current quarter was on track to be at the high end of the Californian company’s forecast of $190 million to $210 million.
He said the reorganization would not prevent GoPro from bringing new products to market as previously planned.
November’s cuts were billed as a move to better focus on the company’s core manufacturing operations. Employee ranks were trimmed by a smaller amount early last year.
GoPro’s stock has been under pressure from losses and increasing competition in the market since a peak of more than $90 a share in 2014.
It was also hit by a recall that temporarily grounded the freshly introduced Karma drones.
GoPro executives did not reveal details of recently relaunched Karma sales, but said production is on track and the drones are selling.
“GoPro does remain dedicated to the drone category,” Woodman said.
“We are happy with what we have accomplished with Karma and plan to build on everything we have learned with this product.”
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.