GoPro announces layoffs, end of drone business

GoPro is coming to terms with reality. Despite its best efforts, it's just a camera company.

The above line was written over a year ago by Mashable's Kerry Flynn but the line is just as true now as it was in November 2016.

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On Monday, GoPro confirmed reports of layoffs, reducing its current workforce to fewer than 1,000 people, and announced it was exiting the drone business. Later, CEO Nick Woodman even hinted he'd be up for selling the company.

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The layoff and drone news was buried in a press release from the company exploring fourth quarter 2017 results. But under the heading of "2018 Products and Operating Expenses," the company laid out three big changes: reducing their workforce from 1,254 to under 1,000, slashingfounder and CEO Nicholas Woodman's "cash compensation" to just $1, and their exit of the drone market.

As for the drone decision, the release detailed:

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Although Karma reached the #2 market position in its price band in 2017, the product faces margin challenges in an extremely competitive aerial market. Furthermore, a hostile regulatory environment in Europe and the United States will likely reduce the total addressable market in the years ahead. These factors make the aerial market untenable and GoPro will exit the market after selling its remaining Karma inventory.

The company did note they would continue offering support for its Karma drone.

And in non-drone and non-layoff news, the company announced that, as of Sunday, the price on its popular HERO6 Black camera had been cut by $100, from $499 to $399. The company reported good sales on its HERO5 Black camera after it cut that device's price in December 2017 for the holiday shopping season.

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Following the announcement, GoPro stock sunk by more than 20%.

It's been a rough trip for GoPro, which saw its fortunes tumble in late 2016 following a big miss in the third quarter of that year. Besides previous layoffs, the company also shuttered its ambitious entertainment division and had to recall hundreds of its Karma drones.

And 2018 is definitely turning out to start on a cold note for the company after a rosy outlook in 2017, after all that tumult.

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