Housing.com sacks 200 as part of business rejig, looks to focus on core

BENGALURU: SoftBank-backed real estate portal Housing.com has fired about 200 employees as part of restructuring as it looks to focus core business -home buying and selling -and scale down on all other verticals, including listings and rentals.

The company did not specify how many employees it is letting go of, but the Mumbaibased startup has laid off about 800 people over a period of last three to four months.

"Housing.com will now be laser focused on solving the pain points in home buying and selling, the largest real estate segment, and we are excited about the potential impact our solutions could have on consumers, developers and agents across the country . We will be reorganizing the company to fit this new focused strategy and, to this end, expect to reduce our workforce.The company values the contributions of its talented team and will do everything it can to support its departing team members," said Jason Kothari, CEO, Housing.com.

The latest layoffs are being done across departments, including marketing, operations and product. Post this, company's employee strength would drop to about 1,700.

"Furthermore, Housing.com will be reorganizing its teams to more efficiently execute this new focused strategy and, as a result, will be reducing its employee base," the company added in the statement.

After the management turbulence and exit of former CEO Rahul Yadav, Housing investors have asked the management to arrest cash burn and focus on core areas rather than expanding across segments without caution.

Over the last quarter, Housing has shut business segments such as commercial properties, short stays and land business. Post Kothari's appointment, in the last few months, Housing has seen top-level management reshuffle, with CFO Mani Rangarajan and CMO Nikhil Rungta, among others, joining the company .