The CEO of streaming platform, Twitch, Dan Clancy, has confirmed that the company is making layoffs.

In a blog post, the exec said that it was cutting just over 500 positions at the firm, adding that it was "a very hard day".

Clancy said that this decision has been made to cut costs and make the platform more efficient, as other efforts to do so have failed.

"So while the Twitch business remains strong, for some time now the organisation has been sized based upon where we optimistically expect our business to be in 3 or more years, not where we’re at today," he wrote.

"As with many other companies in the tech space, we are now sizing our organisation based upon the current scale of our business and conservative predictions of how we expect to grow in the future.

"This decision, while incredibly difficult and painful, is necessary to ensure that we can continue to serve our streamers sustainably without impacting their ability to support their careers on Twitch. Part of what makes this so difficult is the passion that so many of you share for the Twitch community, and the hard work you’ve put into serving our streamers."