The Mozilla Foundation has laid off 30 percent of its staff in a massive restructuring. The nonprofit organization, known for its focus on digital privacy and its development of the Firefox browser, cited “a relentless onslaught of change” in the technology landscape as the driving force behind these changes. This is Mozilla’s second round of layoffs in 2024 following cuts earlier this year.
Mozilla cuts workforce by 30 percent amid major restructuring
Later, with TechCrunch, Mozilla Foundation Executive Director Nabiha Syed sent an email explaining the organization’s rationale for the layoffs. According to Syed, the layoffs, which affect nearly half of Mozilla’s staff, are part of a broader effort to streamline the foundation’s focus on what it considers to be its core mission: India has been advocating for a more open and equitable internet. It involves wiping out two of Mozilla’s central departments, advocacy, and global programs, as they were in the previous setup.
In today’s technology climate, Syed wrote that prioritizing people over profit is harder than ever, and Mozilla’s mission has never been more staked. She explained that the restructuring aims to create “a unified, powerful narrative” for Mozilla’s goals, enabling the organization to respond more agilely to fast-moving industry trends. Syed, who joined the Mozilla Foundation earlier this year, emphasized the need for “laser focus” to navigate what she described as a “topsy-turvy” time for tech.
After killing the dedicated advocacy division, Mozilla has assured that the advocacy mission continues within a new, much more integrated framework. Mozilla is implementing its advocacy in all parts of the foundation’s operations, a move verified by Mozilla’s communications chief Brandon Borrman to source, but he didn’t say exactly how it will play out. The foundation plans to emphasize strategic communications and promote online transparency, privacy, and digital inclusivity in a more stripped-down, leaner, centralized way.
As the company starts to lay off workers, Mozilla is poised to begin writing a new chapter in the company’s digital future, quick to adapt to a changing digital landscape. Little of the organization’s advocacy work sounds likely to continue. Yet, Mozilla’s leadership is happy that its new streamlined structure will allow it to impact the modern tech world.
Image credit: Furkan Demirkaya/Ideogram
