(Adds 2022 year-end results)
By Greg Bensinger
April 18 (Reuters) - Opendoor Technologies Inc on Tuesday said it was cutting roughly 560 jobs, or 22% of the
workforce at the online U.S. real estate firm, citing a
declining housing market.
The announcement followed a previous round of layoffs in
November when the San Francisco company cut 550 jobs, or about
18% of its workforce at the time.
"We're taking these actions now to better align our
operational costs with the anticipated near-term market
opportunity," the company said in an email confirming the
layoffs. Opendoor said new listings have fallen by around 30%
from their peak in 2022 due in part to higher mortgage interest
rates.
Opendoor reported a loss of $1.4 billion in 2022, more than
double its $662 million loss in 2021, despite nearly doubling
sales to $15.6 billion.
Opendoor uses artificial intelligence systems and other
technologies to help it buy and price thousands of homes, aiming
to flip them within a few months for a profit. It has been
cutting prices for some homes that have lingered longer on its
balance sheet, and the company said it is reducing its marketing
spending.
At year end, Opendoor had nearly 13,000 unsold homes,
out of about 35,000 homes purchased in 2022. By comparison it
bought just under 37,000 homes in 2021.
Shares of Opendoor, which as of Monday were up nearly
60% this year, fell more than 5% to $1.66 in mid-afternoon
trading.
Most of the job cuts announced on Tuesday were in the
company's operations unit.
(Reporting by Greg Bensinger; Editing by Paul Simao)
@gregbensinger))
