The Trade Desk (TTD) has cut its global headcount by about 15%globally, but its vision and mission will remain unchanged as the company maneuvers through turbulent times.
TTD Chief Executive Jeff Green delivered the initial news in the company’snewsletter, The Current, and then followed up with emails to those who were affected. He said the reduction was a reallocation of resources rather than a response to financial distress.
The company wrote in its February financial filings it had 3,843 full-time employees as of December 31, 2025. The restructure is estimated to affect more than 500employees. Each employee whose last day became Sept. 4, received a “transition package.”
The news comes on the heels of TTD reporting disappointing quarterly earnings last month. Revenue grew by 3% year-on-year, and it missed Wall Street expectations on earnings. While the company did not meet specificstandards set by the company, he wrote in the online public newsletter announcement that TTD has approximately $1.5 billion cash on hand and no debt on the balance sheet.
In August, NewStreet Research published a report stating TTD’s revenue numbers were “shocking,” and set a new stock target at $10, down from $17 on significantly lower estimates and slightly lowervaluation.
Remaining focused on “decisioned buying” will become a key factor to watch, per New Street Research. “We view this is as another way of saying TTD has no plans tolaunch a low-cost option with limited decisioning right now,” stated the report.
“We’re positioning ourselves for growth,” Green wrote in the post. “We’ve captured ~1% of the TAM.We have so much more to do.”
Former employees who received notices on Friday also posted their thoughts.
Ian Ivins, TTD CTV Strategy & Partnerships at TTD, wrote and posted toLinkedIn, “today is my last day at The Trade Desk, following a restructuring,” after two-and-a half years. He wrote the post as he few home from London “in shock.”
“For everyone else affectedtoday, this isn’t about your talent, your value, or your output,” Ivins wrote. “It hurts right now, but there are better things ahead.”
Ivins’ post prompted more than 32 comments ofsupport.
TTD stood at one time as the biggest success story in advertising technology under Green’s leadership, but then it declined.
Even as the company began to decline, Green wroteon the company’s blog post in March that he had purchased about $150 million of TTD stock, “the biggest purchase of my life,” he wrote, betting big on artificial intelligence and the technology aroundAI that will turnaround the company.
