Loft, a Brazilian proptech unicorn, has laid off about 380 workers, or 12% of its workforce, the corporate introduced at present.
The layoff marks the corporate’s second spherical of cuts this yr to date. In April, Bloomberg Linea reported that Loft had lower 159 jobs. That might imply that Loft has let go of practically 540 staff this yr to date. It at the moment has about 3,200 workers.
In an emailed assertion, Loft — which says it makes use of expertise to simplify and allow actual property and credit score transactions — described the transfer as “a reorganization of its operation.” It stated that the affected workers have been those that “serve Loft and purchased firms.”
It added that the impacted workers would obtain a particular advantages package deal, which incorporates:
- extension of the well being plan for the holder and dependents for two months;
- assist to the skilled relocation course of;
- facilitation of participation within the inventory possibility plan for eligible folks.
The corporate additionally stated:
Loft appreciates the dedication of the workers who’ve left the corporate, is dedicated to assist them in no matter is feasible to relocate to the market and regrets the lack of these professionals. The discount in employees is along with different measures to extend effectivity taken in current months after 4 years of aggressive and constant development, each via organically developed merchandise and thru acquisitions. With these measures, the Loft Group adjusts to the brand new world actuality, taking vital steps to assist the continuation of the present tempo of sturdy development in its enterprise, providing revolutionary merchandise to shoppers, together with actual property brokers and brokers all through the nation.
Loft goals to function a “one-stop store” for Brazilians to assist them handle the house shopping for and promoting course of. Final yr, Loft acquired a Mexico Metropolis-based startup, TrueHome, and entered that market in what it described because the “begin” of its worldwide growth. At the moment, the corporate stated it had grow to be “the actual property e-commerce platform with the best income in rising markets outdoors China.
In April of 2021, DailyTech reported on São Paulo-based Loft closing on $100 million in funding that valued the corporate at $2.9 billion. At the moment, its founders informed DailyTech that the startup had elevated its valuation by $700 million in a matter of weeks. Since its 2018 inception, Loft has raised $800 million in fairness funding from an investor base that features Baillie Gifford, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), D1 Capital, QED and Tiger World.
In 2020, Loft noticed the variety of listings on its website improve “10 to fifteen instances,” in line with co-founder and co-CEO Mate Pencz. On the time of its final elevate in April 2021, the corporate stated that it actively maintained greater than 13,000 property listings in roughly 130 areas throughout São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, partnering with greater than 30,000 brokers.
Earlier this yr, Loft’s co-founder Kristian Huber stated the corporate had “governance and compliance prepared for US capital markets,” however may “wait [for] the most effective time to go public,” reported Bloomberg Linea.
Equally, one other proptech within the area, Brazilian digital actual property dealer QuintoAndar, launched in June in Mexico Metropolis, marking the primary time the startup has expanded out of its dwelling nation. Final August, QuintoAndar introduced it had raised $120 million at a $5 billion valuation. In April, the corporate laid off 160 folks, or 4% of its employees.
It’s clear that as in the USA, Latin America too is going through a slowdown because of elevated rates of interest, amongst different issues. In June, DailyTech reported that Redfin and Compass performed layoffs that mixed amounted to about 920 folks.