- Amazon.com Inc's (NASDAQ AMZN) video game live streaming platform, Twitch, has lost six critical executives since the start of 2022, Bloomberg reports.
- Twitch is a popular site for watching other people play video games.
- The platform lost its COO Sara Clemens, Chief Content Officer Michael Aragon and Head of Creator Development Marcus "DJ Wheat" Graham, and three other top executives.
- According to Bloomberg, the personnel exits started in 2021 when more than 300 employees left. In 2022, 60-plus people have left.
- According to seven current and former employees, the departures will probably continue, if not accelerate, because they say Twitch is losing touch with its north star.
- The north star is a community of about 8.5 million streamers whose gaming exploits attract an average of 140 million people to the platform each month.
- Their exits have solidified the reign of CEO Emmett Shear, whose engineering-first focus has led the company to misread what the streaming community wants, the employees said.
- According to Bloomberg, some employees believe Twitch has focused on expanding and finding new ways of making money from its streamers in recent years rather than listening to and understanding them, thereby alienating some hard-core users and the employees whose ingenuity and enthusiasm made Twitch a success.
- Price Action: AMZN shares closed lower by 2.73% at $2,957.97 on Thursday.
