((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
Speaker maker Sonos SONO.O said Monday that Patrick Spence will step down as chief executive after a disastrous app update last year drew customer criticism and delays the development and release of other products.
The company has appointed board member Tom Conrad, 55, as interim chief executive officer, effective immediately. Mr. Conrad is the outgoing CEO of Zero Longevity Science, the maker of the Zero metabolic health app.
In May 2024, Sonos launched a new app that experienced significant issues with users not being able to perform essential functions such as accessing or searching their music libraries, setting music timers sleep or even downloading the app.
The company said it would cost between $20 million and $30 million to fix these problems and decided to cut about 6% of its staff.
In October, Spence acknowledged mistakes made when releasing the app and said he and seven other company executives would forfeit their bonuses.
Shares of the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company fell more than 8%. The stock has lost around 12% of its value in 2024.
In November, the company forecast a decline of about 9% to 22% in first-quarter revenue from a year earlier as it faces market weakness and challenges posed by application failure.
