Cars.com, a Chicago-based online car-buying company, laid off 170 employees this month, the e-commerce company announced in its latest earnings report.
Due to challenging market conditions amid the coronavirus crisis, Cars.com furloughed about 250 employees on April 1 and later cut 170 permanently, effective May 1. The layoffs account for about 9 percent of its workforce.
Additionally, Cars.com reported salary reductions and other cost-cutting strategies to help offset revenue losses from COVID-19.
Cars.com reported first quarter revenue of $148.1 million, which was down $6.1 million, or 4 percent, compared to same period last year, according to the report. The company attributes the revenue dip to fewer dealer customers than in the prior year. National advertising revenue also declined.
“We were well on our way to exit the year with positive revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth through mid-March, when COVID-19-related restrictions were imposed across the country,” said Alex Vetter, the president and CEO of Cars.com, in a statement. “While the impact of COVID-19 is severe, we know our digital solutions are part of the antidote for our industry and we worked in partnership with dealers to initiate efforts to get car sales classified as essential services, selling safely through digital platforms.”
Last year, Cars.com also saw layoffs, when it cut 126 employees. Those layoffs followed the company’s acquisition of two Naperville tech companies, Dealer Inspire and Launch Digital Marketing, in deals worth $165 million.
On Thursday afternoon, Cars.com's stock was down 13 percent, trading at $6.04.
