AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT KNOCK

New York City, New York-based Knock, a technology company that facilitates real estate transactions, has announced that it is reducing its workforce by 46% or approximately 100 employees thoughout the company's various divisions. It should be noted that while the company maintains some physical locations to facilitate co-working, all employees are essentially remote workers.

According to Knock CEO Sean Black, “While substantial, the capital we raised is much less than what we set out to raise in our IPO, requiring us to rightsize the business, including the difficult decision to part ways with many of our beloved Knockstars. This is why today’s announcement weighs heavily on us and me, in particular.”

The company has raised $70 million in equity and $150 million in new debt to “power its payment platform that helps customers finance their dream homes. Led by Boulder, Colorado-based Foundry Group, an early-stage venture capital firm, the other investors include Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors, and Mauricio Umansky, a Beverly Hills real estate broker who is CEO of The Agency. The hope is for a payout IPO when conditions in the real estate and financial markets improve.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT HOMIE

South Jordan, Utah-based Homie, an operator of a peer-to-peer marketplace for real estate-related services, has announced a major reduction in force affecting 28% of its existing staff.

CEO and Co-Founder Johnny Hanna Homie noted that the staff reductions impacted 119 employees across the company’s operations in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada.

According to a company statement, We made the difficult decision to reduce the size of our company based on the impacts of the changing real estate market. It was the hardest decision we have ever had to make. Each and every one of these talented individuals is not just our co-workers; they are our friends. Those affected are some of the most skilled, committed, and incredible professionals and people. Their contributions have shaped Homie’s culture and products and made it possible for us to help thousands of customers across multiple markets. We are doing all we can to support each and every homie while they transition to the next chapter of their careers.

This reduction will not impact our ability to serve our clients in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Idaho. Limited housing inventory has also created a challenging real estate market for home buyers; driving up prices and making homeownership less and less accessible. We are now refocusing on helping solve this problem by making buying a home possible for more people. Those leaving today have helped to build the products to make this a reality. They will be greatly missed."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT REDFIN (02/18/25)

FEBRUARY 18, 2025 — 450 TARGETED

Redfin announced it would lay off 450 employees and a $100 million partnership with Zillow.

Zillow said it would become the sole provider of multifamily rental listings on Redfin and its subsidiaries, ApartmentGuide.com and Rent.com.

Redfin said in its filing that it will have to restructure its rentals segment for the partnership, which will result in $18 million to $21 million in expenses for the company. Employees in its rentals business will be laid off between February and July 2025.

A spokesperson noted, “A layoff of this magnitude is painful, but this partnership is best for our customers and for Redfin overall. Our focus remains on building the best online home search and pairing it with the best brokerage, lending, and title service.”

APRIL 12, 2023 — 3RD ROUND WITH 201 LAYOFFS

Responding to the continuing decline in the real estate market, the company laid off 201 employees, including some executives, in their real estate support department.

NOVEMBER 10, 2022 — DIVISION CLOSING WITH 862 LAYOFFS

Redfin announced that it's laying off 13% of its workforce and shuttering its home-flipping business RedfinNow.

862 workers who had been renovating RedfinNow homes will be laid off. However, Redfin will retain some home-services employees for its concierge service in order to repair brokerage customers’ listings.

JUNE 15, 2022 — 470 LAYOFFS COMPANYWIDE

From Redfin CEO, Glenn Kelman…

“I’m sorry to say that we’re asking about 8% of our employees to leave Redfin today, or about 6% if you include the people of RentPath and Bay Equity.

To all the departing people who put your faith in Redfin, I’m sorry we can’t keep our commitment to you. With May demand 17% below expectations, we don’t have enough work for our agents and support staff, and fewer sales leaves us with less money for headquarters projects.

We’re losing many good people today, but in order for the rest to want to stay, we have to increase Redfin’s value. And to increase our value, we have to make money. We owe it to everyone who has invested your time or treasure in this company to become profitable, and then very profitable.

Today’s layoff is the result of shortfalls in Redfin’s revenues, not in the people being let go. But months before this layoff, our culture has been making an important shift toward performance and profits. There’s a reason that Redfin, alone among brokers, employs our agents: to hold ourselves to a higher standard.

Redfin will grow more slowly in a housing downturn, but we’ll still grow, and our share gains will accelerate. The world will write us off, as it has before. What will be most painful is the effort some of you will have to go through to think of ourselves as a good employer. Part of being good is accepting when the company has fallen short of that, without forsaking our determination to do better. We have broken our commitment to our people, twice now in three years. We can’t shrink from doing what’s best for the whole company, not just one part of it, today and every day. But I’ll spend the rest of my life wondering how I could’ve avoided these layoffs. What’s most important now is treating the people leaving with humanity and respect.”

JANUARY 18, 2022 — Original post…

Seattle, Washington-based Redfin, a technology-based full-service discounted real estate brokerage, has announced a restructuring following the acquisition of San Francisco, California-based Bay Equity, a full-service mortgage lender.

The restructuring will impact 121 employees, including those in sales support, capital markets, and operations. The transaction will close in the Second Quarter of 2022.

According to a company spokesperson, “Reorganizing our mortgage operations, unfortunately, means some colleagues and friends will be leaving Redfin. Many of these people are the pioneers who helped build Redfin Mortgage from scratch and we owe them a debt of gratitude.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?