Suspending its iBuyer Scheme and Now This

As the days tick on, companies are ramping up measures taken to cut costs wherever possible. Unfortunately for some, that means massive layoffs and furloughs. 

Most recently, US iBuyer startup, Opendoor has laid off around 600 employees, equally about 35% of its workforce, to make ends meet. 

This news comes less than a month after the startup suspended its iBuying scheme of purchasing houses for resale, something that many iBuyers have been forced to do while the Coronavirus wreaks havoc around the world. 

The laid-off employees won’t be let go without any sort of compensation. Opendoor CEO Eric Wu announced that these employees will receive 8 weeks of pay and 16 weeks of health insurance coverage. Wu has also pledged to donate his salary for the year to an Employee Relief fund.

There’s a pattern with property companies looking to cut corners while revenue dwindles as consumers are forced to stay inside and suspend any property transactions they had originally planned.

When it comes to flexible workspaces, WeWork was forced to lay off employees to save money.  Earlier this month, Redfin announced that it would be laying off 7% of its staff and 41% of its agents. 

Opendoor is just one of many turning to layoffs during this time of crisis, and it certainly won’t be the last. And just when startups will be able to bounce back from this is still yet to be seen.