Difficult Times, Difficult Decisions
By: Rich Barton, CEO | October 17, 2008
This week we are reducing our workforce by 25%. This was an incredibly painful decision for me and the leadership team, but, in the end, we concluded that we had no choice but to securely batten down the hatches as we sail into a major economic storm.
The unprecedented economic events that are playing out on a global stage began in our own industry and have made a prolonged recession likely, in our judgment. We are a young company that is not yet making a profit. Despite having sizeable cash reserves, we deemed the responsible course was to meaningfully reduce expenses, so that Zillow emerges from the other side of the recession in a very strong position, even if the recession lasts many years.
Saying goodbye to dedicated colleagues, who we have worked with side by side, is miserable. This is a group of incredibly smart and talented people who helped build and support a product they can be proud of. I want to thank these folks for their service and contributions and offer my apology for the having to make this decision. I wish the circumstances would allow us to continue having them contribute to Zillow’s success.
One of the reasons this is so difficult is simply because the business continues grow. In the midst of the madness that surrounds us, we counted 5.4 million unique visitors to Zillow.com in September, which was a 42% increase in traffic over this time last year. Fear, value-shopping, and curiosity are driving people in record volumes to our site. The fact that we have never spent any money on advertising gives me tremendous confidence in our consumer-centric product vision and in the long-term leverage in our business model (free, open access funded by targeted, relevant advertising). While our revenues do not yet cover our expenses, those revenues have been growing at a rapid pace and we will continue to have open positions in areas that are directly tied to revenue, such as advertising salespeople.
So, this is a jolting and sad week for us here at Zillow – both for departing employees and those of us who will be adapting to a smaller organization. However, given the potential for an extended recession, we firmly believe that we are doing what is painful but necessary to ensure a bright long-term future for a company that, in a very short period of time, has become an important resource and a household name for all those interested in homes.
- Stumble it!
- Categories: Zillow
Comments
87 Comments so far
Enjoy this post? Subscribe to the Zillow Blog feed or get updates via e-mail
25% Layoffs At Seattle’s Zillow on October 17, 2008 12:19 pm
[...] blog post: This week we are reducing our workforce by 25%. This was an incredibly painful decision for me and [...]
Jay Thompson on October 17, 2008 12:25 pm
Well that sucks Rich. A workforce reduction is one of the most painful things a management team and employees can go through. Even those staying behind may face “survivor guilt”.
I spent years in corporate America in Human Resources, the last several shutting down plants and laying people off (before it happened to me). It is absolutely excruciating. But, it never ceases to amaze me how many people that were impacted rebounded and wound up doing something else that they loved — often in a better field, or place, or salary level.
There are some *brilliant* people at Zillow. And good people. They will still be brilliant and good whether they are at Zillow or not.
Hang in there folks!
Maureen Francis on October 17, 2008 12:35 pm
On a personal level, my first thoughts went to David G. and Drew Meyers since they have been the voice of Zillow to most of us out here in the RE.net. I hope they both remain part of the Zillow team.
I hate to hear that anyone lost their job, and wish the best to all.
TechCrunch Japanese アーカイブ » シアトルのZillow、全社員の25%レイオフ on October 17, 2008 12:37 pm
[...] 以下は、Richardのブログ記事（英文）。： [...]
Greg Cooper on October 17, 2008 12:46 pm
Once upon a time, far away in the broadcasting industry I was ‘informed’ by upper management that I was to release (fire) my fellow air staff employees X,Y,Z,P,D,Q,A,B,C….etc. My hearts go out to those who must move on…and I pray that Rich is wrong and that this economic storm is less than what they’ve prepared for. God speed former Zillow team members!
Real estate site Zillow cuts 40 employees » VentureBeat on October 17, 2008 1:18 pm
[...] for estimating the value of people’s homes. Today, the Seattle startup announced that it’s cutting 25 percent of its staff. That adds up 40 employees, according to John [...]
Web 2.0 Fucked Company » Blog Archive » Looks like there will plenty of Talent looking for work in Silicon Valley - Zillow laysoff 25% on October 17, 2008 1:21 pm
[...] blog post: This week we are reducing our workforce by 25%. This was an incredibly painful decision for me and [...]
Jim Reppond on October 17, 2008 1:30 pm
I’m so sorry to hear this!
Zillow is one of those exceptional companies that strives to find ways to work with the industry in win-win scenarios.
I had the honor to speak to some of the Zillow sales staff a couple of weeks ago and was very impressed with their deep understanding of the real estate industry.
All my prayers to you and God-speed to a profitable future.
Jim
25% Layoffs At Seattle’s Zillow »TechAddress on October 17, 2008 1:32 pm
[...] blog post: This week we are reducing our workforce by 25%. This was an incredibly painful decision for me and [...]
Zillow makes list of 11 “Troubled” Web Companies | Real Estate Internet Marketing by Union Street Media on October 17, 2008 1:53 pm
[...] Again: Today Zillow let go of 1/4 of its workforce. From the Zillow blog Rich Barton says: This week we are reducing our workforce by 25%. This was an incredibly painful decision for me [...]
Zillow Cuts 25% of Staff | Seattle Bubble — News & discussion about real estate & the housing bubble in the Seattle area. on October 17, 2008 2:00 pm
[...] Redfin, and now Zillow: This week we are reducing our workforce by 25%. This was an incredibly painful decision for me and [...]
The Bloodshed Continues – Zillow Lays Off 25% Staff | Startup Wire on October 17, 2008 2:17 pm
[...] which translates to 35 people. The announcement was made the CEO of Zillow Richard Barton in a blog post:This week we are reducing our workforce by 25%. This was an incredibly painful decision for me and [...]
Zillow Lays off 25% of it Workforce-- rentBits Rental Blog on October 17, 2008 2:17 pm
[...] Barton, the CEO of Zillow recently wrote a post entitled “Difficult Time, Difficult Decisions“. In it he says: This week we are reducing our workforce by 25%. This was an incredibly [...]
I was right about zillow, called layoffs | The Andrew Hillman Blog on October 17, 2008 2:22 pm
[...] hate to say it but I was right. Zillow just announced layoffs. Layoffs is the big trend right now. Seems very strange that CEO’s feel the need to [...]
Techvibes | Blog | Calgary, Edmonton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Montréal, Ottawa, Portland, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria on October 17, 2008 2:41 pm
[...] 20% of their staff, Zillow’s CEO Rich Barton announced today that he made the difficult decision to reduce their workforce by 25%. This is becoming quite the theme in the startup community as smart entrepreneurs securely batten [...]
FT.com | Tech Blog | Doom without gloom, tech prospers but makes cuts on October 17, 2008 2:45 pm
[...] In a blog post, Richard Barton, chief executive of the real-estate site, said the 25 per cent cut in his workforce was necessary because it “had no choice but to securely batten down the hatches as we sail into a major economic storm.” This despite rapidly growing revenues and a 42 per cent increase in traffic over the past year, he said. [...]
Tracking the Silicon Valley Shake-Ups - GigaOM on October 17, 2008 2:57 pm
[...] Zillow, an online real estate service, is cutting 40 employees, or roughly 25 percent of its work force. (Zillow Blog.) [...]
Zillow feels the market’s pain | BloodhoundBlog: National real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments on October 17, 2008 3:20 pm
[...] The market crunch has hit the Seattle real estate scene hard this week. First there was Redfin announcing it was laying off 20% of its employees earlier this week and today we get Zillow’s announcement that they’re cutting 40 jobs (roughly 25%). You can read about it on the Zillow blog. [...]
A. Longo on October 17, 2008 3:42 pm
Ouch. I was hoping I would not hear this, forget about hear it this week. Rich, I think you are right though and as I commented on Kelmen’s blog earlier this week, I think you guys are ahead of the curve on this one. Sorry to hear about the layoff’s and best of luck with continuing your success!
Zillow announces layoffs despite big growth - Lost Remote TV Blog on October 17, 2008 4:23 pm
[...] its staff despite a 42 percent increase in traffic over the previous year. Zillow CEO Rich Barton explains it well: “We concluded that we had no choice but to securely batten down the hatches as we sail into [...]
Zillow lays off 25 percent of staff | Jacob Madison on October 17, 2008 4:26 pm
[...] the online resource to find out how much your home is worth, announcedthat it has laid off 25 percent of its workforce to prepare for what it expects will be an extremely [...]
Zillow Lays Off 25% Of Staff Despite Strong Growth | tinyCrunch on October 17, 2008 4:34 pm
[...] Zillow’s 5.4 million unique visitors in September, which was a 42% increase in traffic over this time last [...]
Zillow Does Have Limits - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com on October 17, 2008 4:41 pm
[...] Rich Barton, its founder and chief executive, took to the company blog to announce that it was cutting 25 percent of its [...]
MarkM on October 17, 2008 5:19 pm
Sorry. This reader doesn’t get the post or the condolences expressed by other readers above… Your actions and words don’t reconcile: you say that you’re laying off ‘dedicated’ and ‘incredibly smart’ people in the face of growing traffic and revenues. I DON’T BUY IT. Those are the kinds of people you keep when cashflow is increasingly positive.
My guess is you’re being oportunistic given the current conditions to cut what you perceive is dead wood. That is understandable and healthy exercise for any organization, but don’t pander for sympathy on your blog while real hardship is being experienced by those ‘dedicated’ employees you fired.
Get some balls.
I was a huge fan of Zillow until I read this post, but I’m deleting my registration as soon as I submit this comment.
Zillow Layoffs- Behind the Scenes and the Future | national real estate opinion column - agentgenius.com on October 17, 2008 5:29 pm
[...] Zillow took a more 2.0 approach with their layoffs according to David Gibbons with Zillow, “this is our family, they’re like family that have been with us since the beginning.” David went on to describe how awkward the old fashioned walkouts were when running into terminated employees on the street and how it seemed to create animosity where it wasn’t needed. [...]
Eric on October 17, 2008 6:47 pm
Sounds to be nice to everyone, but I do not think he is telling the truth.
Bill Blanchard on October 17, 2008 8:11 pm
Real Estate Services is not a commodity. It’s not like buying stock, booking a flight, buying a book or scheduling a vacation.
It’s a personal service. Redfin was created by people who thought they could create a very profitable corporate offering (IPO) using real estate as their vehicle. They used people’s hope and greed to generate motivation for employees, investors and customers.
The percentage of people who buy and sell homes without the help of a professional real estate agent has changed very little over the years. (The National Association of Realtors says that independent sellers accounted for 12 percent of all homes sold in 2007, down from 18 percent in 1997.) Some people dispute this number and say it is 20% but the point is Redfin’s hope was that they would capture the segment of the market that wanted to save money by doing the work themselves. Redfin planned to benefit from this perceived growth. That perception never turned to reality as the overall market shrank and customers realized the benefit of using a professional agent.
If the internet and commodity trading of real estate where going to replace real estate agents it would have by now. The thinking was because it happened to Travel Agents it will happen to Real Estate Agents.
Travel agents where replaced for the most part because sellers (Airlines, Cruise Lines, Hotels, etc.) squeezed the agents out as the internet made the complicated process of booking and payments rather simple for the buyer. Buyers were motivated to find the best price. Back in the 80s my cousin created the first computer program so travel agents and airlines could talk to each other (Crosstalk.) It made everyone millions until communication became generic and accessible to everyone. Now prices are so tight airlines struggle to survive. Speculators thought real estate would follow the same path.
Buying and selling the space where you live, raise your children, entertain your family and friends, live and die in, is not the same as booking a flight to New York to fit your schedule. There are finances, families, emotions and dreams involved. What was Refin thinking?
Redfin’s IPO will never happen. The employees and investors who thought the stock would make them rich now need to rethink their dreams. Redfin is now last pop of the Real Estate bubble.
Loic on October 17, 2008 9:01 pm
Sad to hear. Looks like the title sounds familiar:
http://www.loiclemeur.com/english/2008/10/tough-times-tou.html
More bad news in virtual real estate land » 360Digest on October 17, 2008 11:12 pm
[...] So now Zillow’s doing lay-off’s too, as they’ve let go 25% of their workforce this week. [...]
Zillow gets affected by the financial crisis, lays off 40 employees | Startup Meme on October 18, 2008 4:00 am
[...] site, Zillow, has joined the category of “economically affected businesses” by laying off 25% of its workforce. The company is going to fire 40 employees this week. The startup is popular for estimating the [...]
My Own Pirate Radio » Zillow Lays off 25% of its Workforce on October 18, 2008 6:33 am
[...] CEO Rich Barton announced yesterday in a blog post that they are laying off 25% of their work force. I guess they are taking to heart the advice in [...]
All Points Blog on October 18, 2008 6:44 am
Geofave Zillow Cuts 25% of Employees…
We in geoland love them, users love them, agents have mixed feelings. The “zestimate your home value site” is widely popular and well-funded, though it’s still not making money. Just this week it announced a quote API and earlier this month it enhan…
More Seattle Layoffs — TechWag on October 18, 2008 10:33 am
[...] Zillow’s CEO posted on his blog that The unprecedented economic events that are playing out on a global stage began in our own industry and have made a prolonged recession likely, in our judgment. We are a young company that is not yet making a profit. Despite having sizeable cash reserves, we deemed the responsible course was to meaningfully reduce expenses, so that Zillow emerges from the other side of the recession in a very strong position, even if the recession lasts many years. Source: ZillowBlog [...]
JanelleS on October 18, 2008 10:54 am
The relationship between Zillow and Redfin has been spoken of this way: We are kissing cousins, but have never gone all the way.
Well, we both have had challenging weeks, but both our senses of purpose has been made that much sharper in this industry.
Being let go is heartbreaking. Staying on at a company where the dynamic has dramatically shifted is almost as bad - but I suppose you get a paid to feel so heartbroken.
Rich and team - we wish you the best in these times. Mahalo.
Irregular Times: News » Will Fired Zillow Workers Use Zillow To Sell Their Homes? on October 18, 2008 11:25 am
[...] In spite of the fact that it has significant cash reserves, and its business is actually growing, not shrinking, the online Real Estate company Zillow has announced that it will be firing one out of every four of its workers. [...]
Zillow Lays off 25% of Work Force - In for Tough Times | Property Portal Watch on October 18, 2008 1:01 pm
[...] the company’s blog, Rich Barton, the CEO, said “This was an incredibly painful decision for me and the [...]
Rich Jacobson on October 18, 2008 1:15 pm
Rich: I personally find it detestable that people would be so overtly critical of what is obviously a very difficult decision-making process for you. I am familiar enough with you and your company to know that these lay-offs are an extremely heart-wrenching process, but unfortunately a necessary step in order for companies to survive our current economic chaos.
It’s over for 25% of Zillow employees on October 18, 2008 1:18 pm
[...] a blog post, Zillow founder and CEO Rich Barton said that the cuts were [...]
Zillow Cuts 27% of it’s Staff | Foreclosure Industry on October 18, 2008 3:02 pm
[...] can also read the letter/blog from Rich Barton, CEO of Zillow Filed Under: [...]
MarkM on October 18, 2008 3:06 pm
Rich J - Looks like some pretty connected people agree with me:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/17/some-of-these-layoffs-arent-really-layoffs/
(for the record - my post was before this was posted)
My overt criticality is really nothing more than pointing out a couple of factually true statements (in hindsight, my final sentiment was heartfelt but unnecessary).
Since it sounds like you have an inside track w/the Richster, maybe you can get him to address the contradictions in his post. Convince me w/one example where laying off a smart, dedicated person in light of growing traffic and cashflow made sense… He can omit names to protect the innocent.
Things are tough all over - Zillow cuts staff 25% | Arizona Real Estate Notebook on October 18, 2008 3:19 pm
[...] Difficult Times, Difficult Decisions [...]
KatrinaJ on October 18, 2008 5:23 pm
In response to Mr. Bill Blanchard’s treatise questioning “What was Redfin thinking?” I would like to provide maybe a little insight into what I perceive as the “thinking” behind Redfin.
Redfin was thinking that clients buying homes need professional Realtors, so they hired them. Redfin employs only “professional Realtors” who transact more escrows in a month than most Realtors do in a year. They are hard-working, smart and adept at handling very difficult situations within their various transactions on a daily basis.
Redfin was thinking that they would like to provide excellent customer service to clients buying a home by focusing on the client and their transaction, instead of out scaring up new business. And they succeed as can be seen by the many and varied testimonials on Redfin.com. On each transaction there are at least 3 professionals on the deal: a Realtor in the field, a Realtor who negotiates for them and a Transaction Coordinator (many Realtors handle all three of these tasks while also spending time seeking clients!)
And Redfin was thinking that they would like to provide transparency within the entire real estate process. So that smart clients can make fully enlightened and educated decisions on, as Mr. Blanchard so eloquently stated, “Buying and selling the space where you live, raise your children, entertain your family and friends, live and die in…There are finances, families, emotions and dreams involved.”
This is what Redfin was, is and will continue to think and provide for our wonderful clients we are so pleased and proud to serve.
A Guy, Two Girls and a Pup » Blog Archive » Worst. Friday. EVER. on October 18, 2008 8:31 pm
[...] soon have the afternoon off, as Zillow laid off 25% of its staff. You can read all about it here. It was shocking news, after so many meetings where they told us that things were good, everything [...]
Rich Jacobson on October 18, 2008 8:50 pm
MarkM:
I typically don’t bother taking the time to respond to those who lack the balls to let their identity be known. And simply referencing a TechCrunch article doesn’t give your opinion credibility either. I don’t know Mr. Barton personally, but I know several of those on his staff, and have tremendous respect for them.
Eamonn Fallon on October 19, 2008 9:34 am
Sorry to hear about the job losses guys. However if any of you are interested in moving over to Ireland we are looking for talented programmers, product managers and graphic designers.
We are Ireland’s largest real estate and rentals website. Job openings are available here:
http://www.daft.ie/jobs
Regards,
Eamonn Fallon
CEO, Daft.ie
LEADCRITIC | Mortgage Leads News and Opinions on October 19, 2008 9:36 pm
[...] the wake of the announcement, Zillow also announced that it was in the companies best interest to cut 25% of their workforce. The unprecedented economic [...]
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | Rain City Guide on October 20, 2008 12:46 am
[...] Zillow announced at 25% cut on Friday, while Redfin announced that it had laid off 20% of its employees last Monday. Granted, it wasn’t like things were much better in the Real Estate 1.0 world. My NWMLS database’s member table has about 3,000 fewer records than a back up from last year did. But it’s another sign that everybody expects a long & cold winter ahead. [...]
RT on October 20, 2008 3:32 pm
Lemme get this straight: you have “plenty of cash reserves,” revenue is up, your “business continues to grow,” and traffic to your site is up. Yet, you’ve decided to throw a quarter of your employees under the bus because of anxiety and rumor. Thanks to “visionaries” like you, the recession will become a reality.
Now that’s what I call leadership!
Three cheers for you!
The Local Onliner » Real Estate Woes (Finally) Hit Zillow, RedFin on October 20, 2008 4:38 pm
[...] are driving people in record volumes to our site,” noted Zillow CEO Rich Barton on the company blog. “The fact that we have never spent any money on advertising gives me tremendous confidence in [...]
Redfin and Zillow layoffs on October 20, 2008 11:21 pm
[...] are 2 online sites that I use on a regular basis Redfin and Zillow. The recession has forced them to layoff 20-25% of their workforce. That is bad for its [...]
Ryan Beesley on October 21, 2008 3:19 am
As a former employee (I can say that now because today is my last day), I appreciate where Zillow is coming from in this wave of cuts. To put things in perspective, I’ve worked at Zillow for a little over 3 years; I was Zillow’s first full-time tester, and I have a personal attachment to the product I’ve worked so hard on. After careful consideration, I believe that this decision by upper management is the best direction for the company today. There were a lot of tremendously talented people at Zillow and I am forever greatful for the experience working with them has brought me. Having a vested interest in the future success of Zillow, I believe that the remaining employees will continue to inovate and deliver a quality website — one which lives up to the name.
Z’o long!
I can’t help it, it’s so engrained in the Zillow culture. *Sigh*, that’s going to be tough to let go of.
Could You Survive A Lay Off? | Debt City on October 21, 2008 4:46 am
[...] CEO at Zillow.com, a real estate brokerage site, has posted a notice saying that 25 percent of the company’s workforce will be [...]
Amy B (from Zillow) on October 21, 2008 10:29 am
Ryan, it’s been a pleasure to work with you the last few years. You (and your hairstyles!) will be missed!
Good luck to you.
Laid off Zillowists Finding Work. Through the Glassdoor … on October 23, 2008 2:05 pm
[...] the first post Zillow lay-off review on Glassdoor (click to enlarge). Rich Barton said Zillow still had “sizeable cash reserves”, but this fellow couldn’t get a faster [...]
mirc on October 29, 2008 5:46 am
thanks
Roost Seeks to Rule Online Real Estate « Screenwerk on October 31, 2008 8:48 am
[...] But how will all these sites survive in a down market? Chang told me that his overhead is low; his team is only 16 people. So he feels he can weather the economic storm better than larger competitors that will need to cut costs. That has already been done in the form of layoffs at Zillow. [...]
Pink Slips & Sinking Ships: Has The Wizard of Z Lost His Mojo? on November 3, 2008 8:01 am
[...] weeks after Barton’s blog post, my Google Alert on Zillow was still bringing me citations on the Zillow layoff. Having your highly [...]
Zillow Surrenders Most Of It’s Real Estate Licenses on November 6, 2008 6:57 am
[...] According to Inman News, real estate media company Zillow has chosen to give up all but two of its state real estate broker licenses as a cost cutting measure. (It kept Washington and Texas). On October 17, 2008, Zillow CEO Rich Barton publicly announced the layoff of 25% of its workforce. [...]
Redfin goes Mainstream, Zillow surrenders, Zip Beefs Up & CondoDomain Expands on November 6, 2008 8:47 am
[...] Zillow - (via the Sellius Blog and Inman News ) announced that the real estate media company Zillow has chosen to give up all but two of its state real estate broker licenses as a cost cutting measure. (It kept Washington and Texas). On October 17, 2008, Zillow CEO Rich Barton publicly announced the layoff of 25% of its workforce.) [...]
Redfin goes Mainstream, Zillow surrenders, Zip Beefs Up & CondoDomain Expands on November 6, 2008 9:49 am
[...] Zillow - (via the Sellius Blog and Inman News ) announced that the real estate media company Zillow has chosen to give up all but two of its state real estate broker licenses as a cost cutting measure. (It kept Washington and Texas). On October 17, 2008, Zillow CEO Rich Barton publicly announced the layoff of 25% of its workforce.) [...]
Cazoodle Apartment Search Blog » Blog Archive » Rental Housing during Economic Downturn on November 7, 2008 6:40 pm
[...] off 25% of its workforce. Rich Barton, CEO of Zillow.com said in his recent posting titled “Difficult times, Difficult decisions” on October 17, 2008: This week we are reducing our workforce by 25%. This was an incredibly [...]
Redhead Real Estate » Zillow the company many Realtors love to hate on November 10, 2008 3:16 am
[...] linked to Zillow’s CEO Rich Barton’s Difficult Times, Difficult Decisions written Friday where Barton [...]
Raleigh NC| 3 Reasons Companies Should Blog About Layoffs on November 10, 2008 2:22 pm
[...] In these tough economic times companies are doing anything to survive. For many companies, this unfortunately means layoffs. In an article written by Claire Cain Miller, we find that many companies, especially those in Silicon Valley, have taken to blogging about layoffs. [...]
Real estate industry recent news. on November 12, 2008 8:33 am
[...] seems that Zillow is shrinking since it´s last month it began to layoff a quarter of its staff and now it seems it will change [...]
Capital y Código » Blog Archive » Historias recientes sobre el mercado inmobiliario Web en USA. on November 13, 2008 3:43 am
[...] que Zillow esta reduciendo considerablemente su plantilla, cosa que comenzó hace un mes, quedando con tres cuartas partes de [...]
XYFloyd on November 20, 2008 2:08 pm
hey man i love your site.. your friend michael told me you were looking for a new way to earn some extra income online.
i own an awesome website where you can make money online..most our users are making like 20-50 bucks a day.. with minimal work.. its pretty simple to do.. its actually so easy to do you won’t believe ill actually pay you to do it.. and its 100% free to sign up and try.
another positive about my site unlike all the other sites.. i will pay you out daily.. so you earn 5 bucks in the first 5 minutes you work on my site.. request a payout and i will pay you out right then.. i guarantee no other sites like mine will pay out daily multiple times..
i’d be glad to help you.. if you sign up..
http://tinyurl.com/5axduh
tinyComb » Blog Archive » Zillow Lays Off 25% Of Staff Despite Strong Growth | tinyCrunch on November 27, 2008 12:09 pm
[...] Zillow’s 5.4 million unique visitors in September, which was a 42% increase in traffic over this time last [...]
Under economic pressure and timed to take fiscal year 2008 write offs, layoffs are piling up. Viacom and AT&T latest to join growing list. » Metue on December 4, 2008 11:44 pm
[...] •Adbrite – 40 employees, equal to 40% of staff was laid off to trim expenses and allow the ad services company to operate profitably without further funding. (more from Tech Crunch) •Adobe – 600 jobs axed as software buying slows. (more from the Mercury News) •AT&T – 12,000 staff or 4% of the company were announced today. (more from Paid Content) •Comcast – 300 jobs cut as part of restructuring in eastern division. (AP report) •Current Media – Al Gore’s media hopeful lets loose 30 staffers in early November. •eBay – 10% of staff, or about 1,000 jobs cut in early October. (press release) •Electronic Arts – 6% or near 540 jobs cut in late October. •Gawker Media - 14% of editorial staff cut in early October from the blog network with rolling layoffs carrying into December (more at Mediabistro). •iMeem – 25% of staff let go (Metue coverage). •Jaxtr – VoIP startup lets 13 employees go. (more from Tech Crunch) •LuLu – the N. Carolina book publishing let go about 20% of staff. (from News and Observer) •Mahalo – “just under” 10% of staff. (more from Calcanis.com) •Palm – after poor results an unspecified number of jobs, expected to be large, are put on the block. •Pandora – 20 out of 140 employees cut from the Internet music site in mid October. (more from the Pandora blog) •Random House – “minor layoffs” and restructuring announced. (more from WSJ) •SearchMe – after Sequoia Capital cautioned portfolio companies about costs in this climate, 20% of staff let go. (more from Venture Beat) •Simon & Schuster – the books division of CBS Corp drops 35 positions including the head of childrens publishing (more from International Herald Tribune) •Sirius XM – 50 jobs cut at the satellite radio service in mid October. (more from Radio World) •Spot Runner – ad service firm dropping 115 people or about 30%. (more from Tech Crunch) •THQ – reports of four or five studios shutting down. (more from Kotaku) •Wired.com – the online branch of Wired magazine cuts 10%. (more from CNET) •Yahoo – at least 10% of staff or 1400 to 1500 jobs were earmarked for “termination” in news delivered at the company’s 3rd quarter earnings call. Details are still pending. •Zillow - 25% of staff, or about 35 employees were laid off from the real estate web site. (more from the Zillow blog) [...]
The thinning continues. | salemoregonrealestatehomes on December 11, 2008 11:49 am
[...] real estate company, is cutting 20% of its work force, and Zillow announced today that they were cutting 25% of its [...]
chetan on December 24, 2008 5:40 am
People always hate to talk about when they are laid off. But as it has become every day’s news headline since Yahoo started it with cutting 1500 of its task force last year, now a need of platform has been in demand where people can express their selves in words how they are feeling about their company, whey the got laid off was that justified or not. And every thing they want to tell anonymously.
And http://www.layoffgossip.com is providing you that platform.
Layoffgossip on December 28, 2008 11:08 pm
People always hate to talk about when they are laid off. But as it has become every day’s news headline since Yahoo started it with cutting 1500 of its task force last year, now a need of platform has been in demand where people can express their selves in words how they are feeling about their company, whey the got laid off was that justified or not.
And every thing they want to tell anonymously.And http://www.layoffgossip.com is providing you that platform.
JobOutlets on January 13, 2009 9:29 pm
I have a very close friend, who graduated from Harvard. Worked for ML for over 8 years, recently he’s been “right sized” too, despite of his outstanding performance and the increasing revenue he generated. OMG, now the banking industry is badly hurt, how long it would take for those financial background guys like him get back to the job market. Banking jobs are not there as much as before as easily seen on http://www.joboutlets.com and other job sites in the region
JOHN SANTOS on January 18, 2009 11:40 am
WAS I WORTH IT?
ALL OF OUR GREED.
NEED IT NO, WANT IT YES.
NOW THE PEOPLE THAT COME WHEN WE ARE GONE PAY FOR OUR GREED,
I AM STARTING A NEW WEB CALLED JOHNNY TRUTH TO TELL YOU HOW IT REALLY IS.
YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT JOHNCARV9@AOL.COM
Kirsten Mason on January 30, 2009 1:41 pm
Things are going to get worse. Unfortunately much worse. Government intervention is just going to prolong the pain.
zillow.com Regains Strength | Property Portal Watch on May 5, 2009 4:41 pm
[...] to a report on bizjournals.com. In October last year, the company laid off 40 staff members, citing the effects of the global economic downturn. The bizjournals.com report states that zillow.com now [...]
free real estate web 2.0 blogs on July 5, 2009 12:25 am
Don’t become a new real estate agent failure statistic. Before jumping in, know the major reasons why agents fail in the business and how you can overcome the challenges to become a successful real estate agent. Making appropriate financial, planning, and marketing decisions is critical.
Brock on July 12, 2009 9:22 pm
I was swindled on usfreeads by some crook using a wireless number. Asswipe was stunned when I got his addy info and paid a visit lol!
Phone Search
ali@get rid of debt on August 14, 2009 8:46 am
Very hard times at the moment, you have my sympathy.
100% mortgage on August 14, 2009 8:48 am
All these layoffs are really sad, I hope the economy and mortgage market turns around soon.
Cheltenham Letting Agent on September 8, 2009 2:29 am
The responsibility of having to carry out these decisions is horrible. However, it takes a strong person to follow through on what is the right decision for a business often people bury their head in the sand. The increased stress of trying to deliver unachievable targets can be very damaging to moral and confidence. I support and sympathize you.
Torrey Hough on September 21, 2009 10:29 pm
I think the decision making is half the battle. It’s also getting people thinking with common sense and reality. Most people base their decisions on a perfect world… we aren’t even close.
Mortgage on October 10, 2009 11:01 am
Sorry to hear this.
Buy To Let Property on October 24, 2009 9:03 am
I do hope they have all found new employment.
Sherwoods Independent Property Consultant on October 25, 2009 11:06 pm
For best deals and other information,Do get back to us.
litchfield on October 31, 2009 2:34 pm
so where is zillow now?
BTLMortgages on November 3, 2009 6:20 am
Very sorry to here this, lets hope it turns around for you soon.
Edmonton Real Estate Agent on November 3, 2009 9:10 pm
I don’t quite understand? You said that business is up 40 some percent but you have to layoff? Is it traffic that is up but advertising that is down? I hate to see this and certainly expect that things will turn around. I t would cerainly be nice to see if agetns saw the need to up advertising in down times and capitalize on the sectors of business that could see them sustained or even flourish through this down real estate market.