Online code school Treehouse is cutting the majority of its staff at the end of the month after an acquisition deal fell through, according to multiple sources and social media posts.
Reports from affected employees, and former employees trying to help their colleagues, hit social media over the weekend. Many indicated that roughly 50 employees would be let go, with five remaining on staff.
Treehouse founder and CEO Ryan Carson did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In a brief statement to the Oregonian he said “we are going to continue to serve our students and customers.”
In August Carson sold his home in Portland and moved to Essex, Connecticut, according to his Twitter account.
In an internal video, viewed by the Business Journal, Carson is shown addressing employees on August 11. He noted that the company's business-to-business apprenticeship program was shut down in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and changes in hiring for client companies.
He told employees that overall revenue was down 59% from June 2017 to May 2021 and that the number of new users had declined 79% from a peak in 2018. He estimated the company would run out of cash by November 2022, he said in the video.
To address this, he told staff the company sought out a buyer and was in the process of being acquired. He told the team that his move to Connecticut was not based on anything happening at Treehouse, but since the company had gone fully remote during the pandemic there was no reason for him to be in Portland.
However, by August 23, in a Slack message to staff, also viewed by the Business Journal, Carson said the deal fell through and it would be likely that the company would “reduce the team size by a lot.”
This is the second reorganization of the company since 2019. At that time, the company laid off employees to refocus on apprenticeship programs for businesses. Carson has touted online code school and apprenticeships as ways to lower barriers for tech education and careers, which could help diversify the industry.
Carson has faced criticism in the past from employees and community members accusing him, a white man, of profiting off DEI efforts and of blocking individuals on social media who have questioned his motives, including prominent diversity advocate Stephen Green.
According to the company’s online demographics, in 2020 it was 75% white and 56% male.
Treehouse was founded in 2011 and has raised $12.5 million from investors. Its last round was in 2013.
