January 10, 2017
This is an excerpt of a story originally written for Marketwatch.com. Read the entire story here.
2016 was a rough year for the consumer drone industry — and French electronics company Parrot is the latest to announce it took a hit.
Parrot, which makes the Bebop consumer drone and recently launched the Disco fixed wing drone, announced Monday a plan to reduce its drone team of 840 employees by 290 people — about one-third. 150 positions would be cut from its headquarters in France, along with other positions around the world, according to its most recent earnings report.
Parrot reported fourth-quarter revenues of $89.8 million, below its target of $105.7 million. Drones generated $63.4 million in revenue for the company, which also manufacturers headphones and smart devices including flower pots. Parrot said it is targeting 10% growth for its drone business in 2017 with a goal to break even on operation costs.
Parrot isn’t the only company to announce layoffs. GoPro announced in 2016 that it would lay off 200 employees following the recall of its Karma drone, after some customers reported that the drones were losing power and falling from the sky. GoPro has since said it will resume Karma sales, but has not said when they will return to market.
A few months prior to the GoPro news, 3D Robotics, laid off 150 members of its staff. At its peak, the company had employed more than 350 people.
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