Zillow slashed hundreds of employees as the home listing giant shapes up its second-quarter results.
More than 500 people were laid off by the company on Tuesday, according to a staff email obtained by Inman. The layoffs, which chief executive officer Jeremy Wacksman said were enacted across all levels of the company, affected roughly 7 percent of its total workforce.
Wacksman, in an email announcing the layoffs, cited a “disciplined approach to cost management across the company,” adding that the move was about “getting leaner and ensuring we have a sustainable cost structure.”
It’s the second major cut to the company’s workforce this year. In January, Zillow laid off roughly 200 employees, which leadership characterized as the result of job performance evaluations and the employee review process.
The upheaval comes as Zillow prepares to report its second-quarter earnings and faces a number of fires on the legal front.
Last week, a federal judge granted Zillow’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed last year over allegations the listing giant funneled buyers to agents in its Flex Program and steered them towards using its Zillow Home Loan product, allegedly violating the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The plaintiffs can file an amended complaint by Aug. 17.
In June, Democratic Reps. Jennifer McClellan and Don Beyer urged Federal Trade Commission chair Andrew Ferguson to examine platforms that steer prospective homebuyers toward buyer agents in exchange for a referral fee.
The FTC already sued Zillow over its $100 million rental listing syndication deal with Redfin — which resulted in hundreds of layoffs — claiming the “illegal agreement” suppresses competition from Redfin in the advertising market for apartment rental listings. That case is headed to trial this month.
There was also a hearing last month on Zillow’s request to temporarily prevent Compass and Chicago-based Midwest Real Estate Data from shutting off its listings access. In May, it sued the two entities, alleging they conspired to harm Zillow by forcing it to alter its listing policy.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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