Booking Holdings Layoffs Would Be Less Severe Than in 2020

Looming layoffs at Booking Holdings next year would be substantial but not as seismic as the 23% workforce reduction that it announced in 2020.

The company stated in a financial filing Tuesday that it expects to achieve $400 million to $450 million in annual run rate expenses from a reorganization — and one-third of that would come from layoffs. It announced last month that a reorganization would be coming.

If the proportion of layoffs to cost savings in 2025 resembles that of 2020, then 8-10% of Bookings’ workforce could be eliminated next year, although there could be significant variables at play.

Booking Holdings estimated in 2021 that its annual savings in personnel costs from the layoffs announced the previous year would be $370 million, compared to the $133 million to $150 million in savings it projects from the 2025 layoffs.

So the upcoming job cuts would be substantial — and very painful for employees losing their jobs —but they would be much less severe than the firings that Booking Holdings engineered during the pandemic when travel initially dried up.

Expenses Versus Revenue Growth

The aim of the reorganization is to tame expense growth relative to revenue growth.

Booking said it has the “goal of growing fixed expenses (Personnel, General & Administrative, and IT expenses) slower than revenue in 2025 and improving efficiency across other operating expenses.”

The company is engaged in revamping its priorities to reinvest into areas such as AI that would position the company for long-term growth.

Booking denies it is downgrading its B2B services, where it competes against Expedia Group and others, as part of the reordering of priorities. Skift reported exclusively a week ago that Booking laid off 60 employees in its B2B arm, which provides inventory and white label solutions to banks, airlines and hotels.

A Booking Holdings spokesperson said, however, that it is centralizing positions and the B2B strategy is not changing.

Two thirds of the costs savings would come from “changes across our brands such as modernizing processes and systems, optimizing procurement, and reducing real estate footprint,” Booking Holdings stated.

Its main brands include Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, Kayak and OpenTable.  

Update: Booking Holdings says it’s B2B strategy is not changing despite the layoffs at Rocket Travel by Agoda.