Rumoured Layoffs at Lamudi After Rival Consolidates Mexican Market

AIM Group are reporting that there have been well over 100 redundancies at Lamudi Mexico following the union of its two main rivals Vivanuncios and Inmuebles24.

According to an unnamed source quoted in the article, Lamudi Mexico has dismissed some 127 employees since the European online classifieds operator sold Vivanuncios to Quinto Andar for an undisclosed sum in late September.

The deal has united Lamudi's two largest competitors under the same parent and looks to have spooked Lamudi's parent company EMPG enough to force redundancies.

One former employee confirmed to Online Marketplaces that there had indeed been a big redundancy with employees from as many as eight departments affected. The person, who did not wish to be named, said that those let go were officially told that the decision was taken because Lamudi was not on stable footing financially and could not sustain its headcount.

The person said that the Vivanuncios deal was not mentioned in any official communication with affected employees.

Although no word has been forthcoming from Lamudi about redundancies and the number of employees let go cannot be verified, anecdotal evidence from Linkedin suggests that a number of the portal's former employees are looking for new jobs. Several LinkedIn posts from Human Resources and Management speak of the "difficult decisions" faced recently and name some of those affected by the redundancy.

In a letter reportedly sent to Mexican real estate agents, Lamudi's management laments the situation and warns agents that with Vivanuncios, Inmuebles24 and new rentals player Benvi under the same ownership, their jobs are at risk.

The letter, seen by AIM Group, calls for a united front from all real estate professionals in the sector and for the backing of Lamudi as the only independent real estate portal that wants the best for the country's agents.

Quinto Andar has now sewn up the Mexican market

Executives at the Brazilian behemoth Quinto Andar clearly have their eyes set on the Mexican market which, after Brazil, has the largest GDP and population in the Latin America region.

First, there was the bold move to buy out the real estate vertical assets of Navent last Christmas which was followed by the launch the Benvi rentals marketplace in June. With the purchase of #2 player Vivanuncios, the market looks sewn up for a company whose market cap was already at $4 billion back in May 2021.

We have reached out to Lamudi Mexico for comment and will update this article if and when we hear back.