Seattle-based online travel company Expedia Group Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE) is laying off about 1,500 people, the company disclosed in a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Expedia, which had 17,100 employees at the end of last year, said in the filing the layoffs were "restructuring actions" tied to its "organizational and technological transformation." The company made multiple rounds of layoffs last year.
Among the job cuts, 208 will be in Seattle, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed Tuesday with the state of Washington. The filing said the layoffs start on May 1.
"The business continues to evaluate the appropriate allocation of resources to ensure the most important work continues to be prioritized," an Expedia spokesperson said in an emailed statement to the Business Journal. "While this review will result in the elimination of some roles, it also allows the company to invest in core strategic areas for growth."
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In the SEC filing, Expedia said the company started notifying some laid-off employees Monday. Expedia expects costs from the layoffs to be between $80 million and $100 million this year, mainly from severance and other benefits.
Expedia offers travel search and booking through its main website as well as other brands like Vrbo and Orbitz. The company generated $12.8 billion in revenue last year, up from $11.7 billion in 2022. CEO Peter Kern is stepping down in May after leading the company since April 2020. Ariane Gorin, currently president of Expedia for Business, is replacing Kern.
The layoffs add to a difficult month for Expedia. A former employee was arrested Feb. 1 after hidden cameras were found in two bathrooms on two different occasions at the company's Interbay headquarters. The former employee is facing four counts of voyeurism but pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Feb. 15.
Expedia closed its headquarters from Feb. 17 to Feb. 19 "to install additional security enhancements and accelerate our detection capabilities," an Expedia spokesperson said. The Seattle Police Department had been on campus for additional searches but didn't find more recording devices at the 1 million-square-foot headquarters.
