Etsy replaces CEO and cuts 80 employees

May 02, 2017

Etsy is unraveling.

The struggling online craft store announced a major shakeup on Tuesday May 2 as a dismal earnings report tanked its shares in after-hours trading.

Chad Dickerson, the company's CEO of six years, will cede his post to board member John Silverman.

The company also said it would lay off 80 employees — around 8 percent of its workforce.

New York City venture capitalist Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures will replace Dickerson on Etsy's board of directors.

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Comment by The Justified Sinner on May 9, 2017 at 9:53am: There is absolutely no surprise here. Several things came into play:

1) Amazon aggressively targeted the Etsy market;

2) Etsy lost focus about four years ago when they set up as a kind of shabby-chic rival to Ebay;

3) There simply isn't the cash about that there was even a few years back.

I pulled my account two years ago as I just wasn't making sales. I think that it is the wrong venue for high-quality craft and Amazon spotted this, responding with a curated marketplace.

I think that this is really sad: I will be sorry if it folds (it won't, but it may be taken over by the likes of Ebay or Amazon) or majorly changes as I loved the idea when I first found it but it is not a marketplace for the cash-strapped post-truth future.