HousingWireHousingWire
Seattle-based real estate brokerage Redfin imposed a new round of layoffs on Thursday, a development first reported by GeekWire.
A Redfin spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that fewer than 100 employees were affected. The cuts involved the company’s Concierge service — which assists homeowners in improve their home’s appeal before it gets listed — as well as support staff and sales managers. Some of the impacted employees are being offered jobs as agents.
“As we hire more Redfin Next agents and our current agents become more entrepreneurial and self-sufficient, Redfin needs less support and managerial staff,” the spokesperson told GeekWire. “Additionally, Redfin is decentralizing operations for our Concierge service.”
Amid the flurry of commission lawsuits across the country over the past year, brokerages like Redfin have restructured their compensation plans to retain existing agents and attract new ones.
The Redfin Next plan, initially launched in October 2023, allows agents to earn commission splits of up to 70% on self-generated leads and up to 40% on leads received via the Redfin website. These agents are W-2 employees who receive health insurance, 401 (k) matches and other benefits. The brokerage has expanded the plan to several new markets since then, including 25 additional markets this month.
This is at least the third round of significant job cuts for Redfin in recent years. It cut 500 employees in June 2022 amid a rising interest rate environment and laid off 200 more in April 2023.
The firm has struggled financially and reported a loss of $27.9 million in second-quarter 2024, slightly more than its $27.4 million loss in Q2 2023. Its revenue and gross profit were up on a yearly basis, but the stagnant housing market conditions of 2024 prompted CEO Glenn Kelman to say that if mortgage rates don’t fall and home sales don’t increase, “Plan B is drink our own urine or our competitors’ blood.”
