Camera manufacturer GoPro is shuttering its entertainment division—which featured both production partnerships and original content—and will eliminate more than 200 full-time jobs, despite seeing its camera sales up 35% during Black Friday holiday week shopping.
The California company also announced that current president Tony Bates will leave the company at the end of the year.
“We have a lot of work to do to finish the quarter and our fiscal year, however our Hero5 cameras have been very well-received by critics and consumers alike," said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro founder and CEO, in a statement. “Both Hero5 cameras can now auto-offload new content to the cloud and our Quik mobile app makes accessing and editing your footage fun. It’s clear consumers are excited about these new features."
"Consumer demand for GoPro is solid and we've sharply narrowed our focus to concentrate on our core business. We are headed into 2017 with a powerful global brand, our best ever products, and a clear roadmap for restored growth and profitability in 2017."
The company expects the cuts to result in $650 million in operating expense savings. The company reported a loss of $104 million for the third quarter of 2016.
"My time at GoPro has been an incredible experience," Bates said. "In the past three years, GoPro has seen enormous progress in camera technology, software and international growth. Today GoPro has a solid leadership team deeply focused on its core business and profitability."
