Parrot reorganises consumer drone operations – laying off 35% of drone team

Revenues for the Automotive business came to around EUR 23 million, in line with expectations. Drones generated revenues of around EUR 60 million, with approximately EUR 11 million coming from commercial drones and EUR 49 million from consumer drones. However, the commercial performance for consumer drones in the fourth quarter was achieved based on margins that would be insufficient to deliver profitable growth for this business over the medium and long term, the company states. Therefore Parrot has made it a priority to – as quickly as possible – meet this challenge with a strategy to rebalance its finances. The action plan that the company has mapped out aims to adapt the level of resources deployed in line with the level of business achieved in 2016 – with a focus on some key areas. Parrot will focus on a reduced number of products and with that aiming on taking a significant technological step forward. The company will realign its sales and marketing resources around the most profitable distribution channels and most promising markets – and also adjust the support teams to the level of business. Consulting with its employee representatives, Parrot is envisaging a plan that could reduce its workforce by around 290 people out of a total of 840 staff currently working in the Group’s Drone activities. These reductions would concern employees both in France and internationally. In France, this proposal would result in around 150 positions being made redundant, the company states in a press release.