Redfin layoffs are just the latest job cuts in tech industry
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Meta, Twitter, Amazon and other tech companies lay off, freeze hiring
Many of the major tech companies in the US are announcing layoffs and hiring freezes.
Cody Godwin, Getty Images
The wave of layoffs in the tech industry continues to grow.
Software company Salesforce cut hundreds of jobs this week, according to reports. The company confirmed the layoffs in an email.
“Our sales performance process drives accountability. Unfortunately, that can lead to some leaving the business, and we support them through their transition,” a Salesforce spokesperson said in a statement.
Salesforce did not disclose how many workers were let go or when layoffs were implemented.
CNBC reported the layoffs reportedly impacted fewer than 1,000 people Monday, representing a small fraction of the company’s workforce, citing an unnamed source. Salesforce reported 78,634 employees as of July 31.
Protocol first reported the layoffs, saying the cuts could affect up to 2,500 workers “amid a new activist investor challenge and harsh economic conditions.”
The news of the layoffs came after reports last month that activist investor Starboard Value disclosed a stake in the company.
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Redfin cuts 13% of its staff
Online real estate brokerage firm Redfin, meanwhile, announced Wednesday it’s laying off 862 employees, about 13% of its workforce, and shutting down its iBuying house-flipping business amid a slowing housing market.
The move follows another reduction announced in June, when Redfin let go of about 470 employees, about 6% of its workforce, after a drop in demand. The number of people working at the company has fallen 27% since April 30, according to a company blog post.
“The June layoff was a response to our expectation that we’d sell fewer houses in 2022; this layoff assumes the downturn will last at least through 2023,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said in an email to employees.
Layoffs sweeping the tech industry
Salesforce and Redfin join several tech companies that have recently announced layoffs and other cost-cutting measures, as employers brace for a potential recession next year.
Also on Wednesday, Facebook parent company Meta announced it will lay off more than 11,000 employees, a 13% headcount reduction, after significantly increasing investments during the pandemic as e-commerce surged.
“Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a message to employees. “I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”
Facebook rival Twitter last week laid off roughly half of its workforce of more than 7,500 full-time employee shortly after billionaire Elon Musk acquired the social media platform. However, the company reportedly asked dozens of workers to return, according to Bloomberg.
As of late October, more than 52,000 tech workers in the U.S. have been laid off this year, according to a Crunchbase analysis.