After being left with no choice but to cancel Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2020 and Shanghai 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the GSMA is cutting 20% of its 1,000 person staff, as part of a wider cost-cutting plan looking to save 40% on current-year budgets. Bloomberg reported that GSMA earns roughly 80% of its annual revenue from MWC Barcelona, making this year’s cancellation a devastating blow.
A GSMA spokesperson provided further details regarding the layoffs in an email to SDxCentral, saying the association had to “examine [its]priorities and make some difficult choices.”
