London-based STEM device maker Kano[1] has confirmed it’s cutting a number of jobs which it claims is part of a restructuring effort to shift focus to “educational computing”.
The job cuts — from 65 to 50 staff — were reported earlier by The Telegraph[2]. Kano founder Alex Stein confirmed in a call with TechCrunch that Kano [3] will have 50 staff going into next year. Although he said the kid-focused learn to code device business is also adding jobs in engineering and design, as well as eliminating other roles as it shifts focus.
He also suggested some of the cuts are seasonal and cyclical — related to getting through the holiday season.
Per Stein, jobs are being taking out as the company moves from building atop the Raspberry Pi platform — where it started, back in 2013[4], with its crowdfunded DIY computer — to a Windows-based learning platform.
Other factors he pointed to in relation to the layoffs include a new manufacturing setup in China, with a “simpler, larger contract manufacturer”; fewer physical retail outlets to support, with Kano leaning more on Amazon [5] (which he said is “cheaper to support”); fewer dependencies on large partners and agencies, with Stein claiming 18% of US parents with kids aged 6-12 are now familiar with the brand, reducing its marketing overhead; and a desire to shrink the number of corporate managers vs makers on its books as “we’ve seen a stronger response to our first-party Kano products — Computer Kit, Pixel Kit, Motion Sensor Kit — than expected this year”.
“We have brought on some roles that are more focused on this new platform [Kano PC], and some roles that...