Seattle tech workers brace for more layoffs, this time at Expedia

About 200 Expedia employees in Seattle will be out of a job come May, according to a filing with the Washington Employment Security Department.

They’re among nearly 1,500 employees across the globe the Seattle-based travel tech company now plans to cut. That’s a little over 8% of Expedia’s workforce. GeekWire reported the layoffs will come primarily from the product and technology division of the company.

This is just the latest round of layoffs Expedia Group has made since 2020, when it slowly began reducing its workforce.

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“Given the recent completion of many significant technical milestones in Expedia Group’s transformation, the business continues to evaluate the appropriate allocation of resources to ensure the most important work continues to be prioritized,” an Expedia Group spokesperson said in a statement to KUOW. “While this review will result in the elimination of some roles, it also allows the company to invest in core strategic areas for growth.”

CEO Peter Kern announced to employees in an internal memo Monday; Kern himself will be leaving his role in May, though he’ll remain the company’s vice chairman and stay on its board.

The Expedia layoffs are just the latest in a series of tech cuts in Seattle and around the globe.

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San Franciso-based analyst Roger Lee, of Layoffs.fyi, said this post-pandemic tech-downsizing has been driven by a market shift toward “efficiency.” In other words, tech companies over-hired during the pandemic, and now, they’re cutting back; more than 260,000 jobs were cut in 2023.

“With Amazon and Microsoft continuing to make cuts as well, Seattle's tech employment faces challenges,” Lee said. though AI presents a promising opportunity.”

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Artificial intelligence could bring promising opportunities, he added.

That may not be much consolation right now, though. NPR reported in January that tech companies laid off about 25,000 employees just in the first four weeks of 2024.

More are likely coming.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The lead image on this article was changed on Friday, March 1, to better reflect the location of the Expedia layoffs, which would be in Seattle and not Bellevue.