Home finance startup Point Digital Finance Inc. laid off 28% of its U.S. workforce at the end of July.
The Palo Alto company alerted affected employees July 27 that it intended to let them go the next day, Matthew Brady, its general counsel, said in a letter to state and local officials made public Tuesday by the state Employment Development Department. Point planned to cut 61 of its 218 U.S. employees, including those based at its 444 High St. headquarters, Brady said in the letter, which was dated July 27.
The startup indeed completed the layoffs July 28, company spokeswoman Amanda Woolley told the Business Journal in an email. The company cut staff in response to economic conditions, she said.
Point offers financing to home owners and buyers, essentially taking equity stakes instead of making traditional loans. The layoffs come as elevated interest rates have depressed home purchases.
"We've felt the impact of the current macroeconomic environment along with the rest of the real estate and financial industries," Woolley said. "We remain optimistic about our long-term outlook."
As part of the layoffs, the startup planned to cut 15 account managers, 12 underwriters, six processors, two senior technical recruiters, its head of growth marketing and a senior data scientist, Brady said.
Among those Point cut, 17 are based in the Bay Area and 26 total in California, Woolley said. She declined to say how many were based in Palo Alto. At the time of the layoffs, the startup didn't have any full-time workers based outside of the U.S., Woolley said.
The company planned to give laid-off workers at least 60 days worth of wages and pay for their health and other benefits for at least three months, Brady said in his letter.
Point's job cuts came about 15 months after it raised $115 million in a Series C round. Headed and co-founded by CEO Eddie Lim, the startup has raised $252 million in venture funding to date, according to PitchBook Data.
