Mozilla Lays Off 30% of Its Staff, Dealing a Huge Blow to Its Efforts to Promote an Open and Accessible Internet

The organization seems to be concentrating more than ever on revitalizing Firefox.

On Tuesday, the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organization, announced a concerning reorganization plan that involves laying off 30% of its staff. While these departures don’t appear to directly impact the development of the Firefox browser, they could have significant implications for key initiatives concerning the future of the Internet.

This reorganization will result in the elimination of two important divisions that have played vital roles in the past. These divisions focused on promoting user rights and advocating for an open Internet, with the Mozilla Manifesto being one of their key projects.

The Mozilla Manifesto aimed to support an Internet that remains a public, open, and accessible resource. Although the company says it’ll continue to advocate for these principles, the layoffs suggest that these efforts may suffer as a result.

In November 2023, Mozilla reported having 60 employees. However, according to The Register, the actual number is closer to 120. Considering the layoffs represent about 30% of the current team, about 36 employees are said to have lost their jobs.

The recent decision adds further challenges to an organization that has faced difficulties for some time. In one of its recent financial reports, Mozilla indicated its financial assets totaled $1.2 billion in 2022, an increase from $1.1 billion in 2021.

Mozilla’s reliance on Google, which serves as the default search engine in Firefox, is evident. The same financial documents revealed that royalties fell from $530 million in 2021 to $510 million in 2022.

While revenue from subscriptions and advertising increased from $57 million to $76 million, the recent layoffs highlight potential changes in Mozilla’s role as a leading advocate and promoter of open standards on the Internet.

Image | appshunter.io

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