Pocket FM carries out fresh job cuts; around 10% workforce impacted

Ah, Pocket FM — because nothing says 'audio storytelling' like a fresh round of redundancies. The company has slashed around 10% of its workforce, or roughly 100–130 souls, with a cheery promise of up to 15% more cuts by the end of June. That's the beauty of 'operational efficiency': you get to tell your staff their stories are no longer in the programme.

Of course, the company frames this as a 'fresh job cut' — as if yesterday's layoff was a little stale and needed replacing. And like clockwork, tech firms are wheeling out the AI excuse like a well-rehearsed bit. Pocket FM isn't explicitly blaming artificial intelligence yet, but give it a quarter; the script writes itself. 'We're embracing AI to personalise your podcast experience — sorry, that means your job is now a training data point.'

This is yet another entry in the AI-excuse bingo card we've been tracking. The pattern is so tired it ought to come with a subscription. Pocket FM's listeners might hear fewer human voices soon, but the algorithm will keep droning on. Cheers, efficiency. 🍻