Expedia, the prominent online travel platform, has announced plans to reduce its global workforce by approximately 1,500 employees, constituting around 9 percent of its total staff, as part of its ongoing organizational and technological overhaul.
The restructuring initiative follows a warning from Expedia, signaling a moderation in revenue for 2024, particularly attributed to anticipated declines in air ticket prices. Additionally, Expedia disclosed the departure of CEO Peter Kern earlier this month, Reuters news report said.
Expedia has reported 10 percent increase in revenue to $12.839 billion with operating income of $1.033 (down 5 percent) in 2023.
In response to inquiries regarding the job cuts, an Expedia Group spokesperson emphasized the company’s commitment to reassessing resource allocation to prioritize critical tasks amidst the ongoing transformation.
The decision to downsize coincides with a broader trend in the travel industry, with companies adjusting expectations for growth in 2024 amid projections of slower demand expansion. Last week, Booking Holdings, another major player in the travel sector, forecasted reduced growth in bookings for the first quarter and the full year, citing the normalization of travel demand in the United States.
Expedia anticipates incurring total pre-tax charges and cash expenditures ranging between $80 million and $100 million as a result of the restructuring measures. These actions underscore the company’s strategic efforts to adapt to evolving market conditions and position itself for sustained growth amidst industry challenges.
Expedia has explained how the deployment of artificial intelligence is assisting the travel technology platform to enhance customer experience.
Expedia already integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) throughout its platform to create a seamless experience from planning to post-booking. Here are examples of how this comes to life for travelers:
To help travelers shop, AI and ML are used to deliver personalized and relevant trip options out of 1.26 quadrillion variables like hotel location, room type, date ranges, price points and much more.
For confidence in flight booking, Price Tracking uses Expedia’s comprehensive flight data, AI and ML to compare today’s flight price with historical price trends and track price fluctuations, so travelers can confidently decide when to book and earn rewards.
For unexpected trip changes, travelers can resolve issues quickly using Expedia’s AI-powered Virtual agent available 24/7.
Rajani Baburajan
