Austin-based auto refinancing company RateGenius Loan Services Inc. is laying off 139 employees, according to a new filing with the Texas Workforce Commission. The layoffs occurred on Jan. 11 at RateGenius' office at 9300 United Dr. in North Austin, the filing shows.
RateGenius' layoffs come amidst a wave of cutbacks at tech companies. Amazon and Cart.com are among companies that have laid off Austin area employees. And, on the same day RateGenius' layoffs became public, Miami-based transportation and logistics company Ryder also announced plans to cut as many as 800 employees.
RateGenius made the disclosure under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Representatives didn't respond to questions about how many employees remain, but the company did offer a statement about the decision.
"Due to the speed and extent that interest rates increased and the quick decline in used car values during mid to late 2022, RateGenius had to reduce the size of its operation to match its business needs," the company's co-CEOs Seth Meyer and Jeff Hutcheson said in a statement. "This economic condition is without precedent and was unexpected. The rapid rise in interest rates also negatively impacted consumers that needed to finance their vehicle purchase, and now millions of consumers are having to obtain auto loans with relatively high rates of interest. This market condition is not permanent, and these consumers are not stuck in these loans forever."
RateGenius was founded by Chris Brown in 1999. It raised $2.1 million in equity funding in 2010 before taking on private equity funding from Austin-based firm Tritium Partners in 2018, according to Crunchbase.
Back in 2021, RateGenius merged with Autopay Direct Inc. in an all-stock merger that made both companies operating units of The Savings Group Inc., which has a marketplace for auto financing and refinancing. The combined companies had 550 employees in 2021.
