SEATTLE - In a blog post on Tuesday, Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman announced that the company is undergoing "organizational changes" that will result in layoffs affecting just over 500 employees.
Wacksman cited the company's commitment to "disciplined cost structure" and efficiency as the primary reasons for the layoffs and said that the decision reflects "both the strides we're making in our strategy and the reality of what is required of us to grow at scale."
According to GeekWire, 91 of the job cuts are based in Washington.
What is Zillow?
The backstory:
Zillow is a Seattle-based tech real estate marketplace company co-founded in 2004 by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink.
The company has quickly become one of the most popular platforms for searching for homes and apartments across the country, competing with sites like Homes.com, Realtor.com and Redfin.
According to the company, its internet traffic competes with apps like Spotify, Reddit and Netflix.
Why is Zillow laying people off?
What they're saying:
According to company CEO Jeremy Wacksman, the company continues to dominate the market, despite operating in a housing market that he described as "essentially flat."
However, he states that Zillow's growth requires the company to operate differently than it had in the past, and that the decision is based on "ensuring [Zillow] has a disciplined cost structure and [is] getting more efficient, with the right people in the right positions."
"We're grateful to every person who is leaving and we’re supporting them through this transition," Wacksman wrote. "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."
Housing Wire, a digital media outlet that specializes in covering housing and real estate, reports that this is the second round of layoffs for Zillow in 2026, with the first cuts coming in January.
Following those layoffs, the company reported $708 million in revenue for Q1.
Wacksman's full blog post can be read here.
Washington layoffs
Local perspective:
GeekWire, a technology-focused news site, reports that 91 jobs will be eliminated in Washington as a part of the layoffs, with the majority of them being senior staff.
Locally, the cuts reportedly will affect:
- 14 principal-level roles
- Five directors
- Three senior directors
- Additional senior managers and senior individual contributors
The outlet writes that "product and engineering roles account for more than a third of the Washington cuts."
What's next:
Following the layoffs, Zillow plans to release its Q2 earnings on Wednesday once the market closes.
Wacksman concluded his blog post by saying, "The opportunity in front of us is as large as it's ever been, and we're building toward it with urgency and a structure that will get us there."
The Source: Information from this story came from Zillow, GeekWire, and HousingWire.