Compass announces tech layoffs as housing market slows
In an effort to cut the company’s costs amid a downturn in the housing market, New York-based real estate firm Compass is undergoing a round of layoffs that will primarily affect its technology team.
News of the layoffs was announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday, in which Compass called its upcoming workforce reduction a “significant action” necessitated by cost-cutting efforts highlighted in a mid-August earnings report.
“A significant portion of the workforce reduction involves headcount reductions in the company’s product and engineering teams,” Compass said in the SEC filing.
About 3,000 of the company’s 21,636 employees are based in the Bay Area, according to LinkedIn. It is unclear how many employees will be affected by this round of layoffs, and Compass declined SFGATE’s request for comment.
Compass is known for fusing the technology and real estate industries by using technology to simplify the process of buying or selling real estate—a platform now advanced enough to justify layoffs across the company’s technology department. The filing said the company expects costs of $23 million to $26 million related to severance and other expenses associated with laying off affected employees.
This is Compass’ second round of layoffs in recent months — the company laid off about 450 people in June, largely due to “clear signs of slowing economic growth,” a Compass spokesperson previously told SFGATE. Redfin also laid off hundreds of employees around that time, and Realtor.com laid off an undisclosed number of employees earlier this month due to reduced sales volume in the real estate market.
