RealPage To Lay Off 4% Of Its Workforce As It Fends Off Price-Fixing Allegations
Real estate technology company RealPage is laying off approximately 4% of its employees, a company executive confirmed Thursday morning.
The cuts come as the company fends off a massive class-action lawsuit, though a spokesperson attributed the cuts to its plan to boost growth. The company said it employed "more than 6,500 people in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Spain" and elsewhere in a LinkedIn post, meaning the layoffs impact at least 260 employees.
"RealPage is hyper focused on innovation and accelerating its business growth in 2024 and beyond, and as a result has made the decision to eliminate a small number of roles within the company," Jennifer Bowcock, senior vice president of communications and creative at RealPage, told Bisnow in an emailed statement.
"We didn’t make these decisions lightly, and we are committed to supporting our employees during this transition inside and outside of RealPage.”
RealPage CEO and President Dana Jones broke the layoff news to the staff at an all-hands meeting, where she said impacted employees would receive a meeting invite from their managers, according to multiple employees posting on LinkedIn and other social media sites. Those employees were then told their jobs had been eliminated, according to the posts.
The Richardson, Texas-based firm had not filed a Texas Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice as of early Thursday.
The staff reductions come at a troubled time for RealPage. Plaintiffs allege the company conspired with major residential property owners to artificially inflate multifamily rents in a lawsuit centering around its revenue management software and rent-pricing algorithm. Renters allege RealPage's platform impacted pricing strategies and violated antitrust laws.
RealPage released a statement last week pushing back against the "false narrative" about its revenue management software. It said fewer housing providers use its software than legal opponents have claimed, and that landlords have the option to not follow the recommendations the software has made.
It also turned attention toward the affordability problem around housing in the country. Jones said in the statement that the key factors in the rising cost of rental housing are a lack of housing supply, increased construction costs due to inflation, strict zoning and permitting regulations, and changes in rental demand.
"RealPage is proud of the role our customers play in providing safe and affordable housing to millions of people," Jones said.
