I’ve heard from multiple sources that TiVo recently laid off a number of folks. However, I’ve been unable to confirm the specific count and will speculate that we’re only talking couple dozen. While these moves surely suck for the employees impacted, I’m confident this isn’t a negative reflection on TiVo’s financial health. In fact, quite the opposite. As I said on Twitter, “a small number (let go) as TiVo reigns in R&D spending. Nothing for consumers to sweat, investors probably happy.” When I first started covering TiVo way back when, I felt they were overstaffed. Although I haven’t kept tabs on this aspect of the business, TiVo obviously came to a similar conclusion based on comments from their recent quarterly call:
we continue to expect reductions in R&D spend in the back part of the year, which will be at least $5 million less than the $60 million spent in the first half of the year, even with the impact from the TRA acquisition. On a quarterly basis, we’re expecting modestly down R&D spend in Q3 followed by a more significant step lower in Q4.