Zillow slashes 500+ jobs as company leans harder into AI

Zillow, the Seattle-based online real estate company, laid off more than 500 employees on Tuesday — roughly 7% of its global workforce.

Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman noted the layoffs were a “difficult decision,” but were required for the company to grow at scale.

“We’re grateful to every person who is leaving, and we’re supporting them through this transition,” Wacksman wrote on the company blog. “These are difficult decisions that reflect both the strides we’re making in our strategy and the reality of what is required of us to grow at scale.”

No information was provided on the number of Seattle-area employees impacted by the cuts.

Cuts come as Zillow leans further into artificial intelligence

At a T3 Leadership Summit in April, Wacksman told real estate executives that Zillow employees had begun retraining to implement AI into their jobs, noting the gains were “small, but they’re compounding,” according to GeekWire.

Zillow did not say if AI played a role in the latest round of cuts, nor did it disclose which teams were impacted.

“Continuing to grow at scale requires us to work differently than we do today,” Wacksman stated. “These changes are about ensuring we have a disciplined cost structure and getting more efficient, with the right people in the right positions.”

Zillow also slashed roughly 200 positions in January, but stated that those cuts were performance-related and coincided with the company’s annual review cycle, according to GeekWire.

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