Quantcast laid off just under 5% of its staff and implemented tiered pay cuts due to the economic impact of coronavirus.
The salary cuts are tiered according to compensation level, with some employees taking 5% cuts and the highest-paid employees taking 30% cuts. Its global staff numbers more than 600 employees, according to Quantcast.
CEO Konrad Feldman, who co-founded the company 14 years ago, took a 100% pay cut.
“In response to the economic impact of COVID-19, we have made a number of changes to our business including the difficult decision to eliminate a number of roles,” Feldman told AdExchanger in a statement. “While these decisions are hard, these are extraordinary times and these changes are necessary to achieve our long-term goals. Saying goodbye to colleagues is never easy, and we’re working diligently to support our team through this challenging time.”
Quantcast runs two businesses: a managed DSP for advertisers and a smaller data and insights business for publishers, including Q for Publishers and a budding consent management platform.
Even before the layoffs, Quantcast had been trying to transition its managed DSP business to one that’s more self-serve. The transition is notoriously tricky, since companies must move to a lower-margin business and risk cannibalizing their more profitable business in the transition.
On top of the challenges of making that transition, Quantcast’s tech relies on third-party cookies, which are in jeopardy.
Quantcast’s headcount declined 10% over the past two years, according to LinkedIn. In the past twelve months, many in senior leadership trickled out. Quantcast’s chief privacy officer, chief legal officer, chief marketing officer, chief people officer, chief operating officer and chief revenue officer all departed.
Quantcast is not alone in making coronavirus-related salary cuts and layoffs. MediaMath made its own cuts Monday, and our full list of companies making coronavirus-related cuts is here.
