Etsy boots CEO, lays off staff as stock plummets
Etsy is unraveling.
The struggling online craft store announced a major shakeup on Tuesday as a dismal earnings report tanked its shares in after-hours trading.
Chad Dickerson, the company's CEO of six years, will cede his post to board member John Silverman.
The company also said it would lay off 80 employees -- around 8 percent of its workforce.
New York City venture capitalist Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures will replace Dickerson on Etsy's board of directors.
The site's stock was trading down nearly 16 percent as of Tuesday evening.
The arts-and-crafts-focused marketplace has been struggle to hold its own against behemoth rivals like Amazon and Ebay.
In a bid to move beyond simply hosting hand-crafted goods, the company launched a craft supply site last month called Etsy Studio, which is presumably meant to compete with traditional retailers like Michael's and Joanne's.
The company is currently under pressure from an activist hedge fund lobbying it to explore a sale or other potential overhauls, Bloomberg reports.
Patrick Kulp is a Business Reporter at Mashable. Patrick covers digital advertising, online retail and the future of work. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a degree in political science and economics, he previously worked at the Pacific Coast Business Times.
