In breaking news out of the tech/drone industry today, GoPro has just announced its exit from the drone industry.
As part of their statement, the company also revealed a major restructuring, mainly within their aerial drone sectors. Due to a decline in growth, they will be cutting 20% of its workforce, reducing its employee count from 1,254 to fewer than 1,000 employees. In addition to this, GoPro CEO and Founder Nicholas Woodman will reduce his 2018 cash compensation to $1. 
This news doesn't come as a shock considering the company has recorded a decline in profits from it previous quarters. Revenue is said to be estimated at about $340 million as opposed to their previous quarter of approximately $480 million. As a result, GoPro's stock plunged by almost 30% on Wall Street. Similarly, the statement revealed that their struggling GoPro Karma Drone will be discontinued, in part due to "a hostile regulatory environment in Europe and the United States" which "....make the aerial market untenable". To add to this GoPro says “Although Karma reached the #2 market position in its price band in 2017, the product faces margin challenges in an extremely competitive aerial market." Regardless of these setbacks, they remain positive about the future of the company, “GoPro is committed to turning our business around in 2018,” Woodman revealed in a press statement released this morning. “We entered the new year with strong sell-through and are excited with our hardware and software roadmap." 
“We expect that going forward, our roadmap coupled with a lower operating expense model will enable GoPro to return to profitability and growth in the second half of 2018.” However, since the release of the statement, there are news reports that GoPro is considering selling, with rumors that JPMorgan has been hired to help them. In a statement made to CNBC Woodman reveals "If there are opportunities for us to unite with a bigger parent company to scale GoPro even bigger, that is something that we would look at." With a shaky start to the new year for GoPro, the future success of the company is unknown. All we can say is watch this space for the latest on this story and for the full statement, click here. But tell us what you think - do you think the GoPro Fusion will put the company back on track? What are your thoughts about Hero 6 compared to Hero 5? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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