Even after record-setting layoffs in technology, cybersecurity firm Rapid7's Tampa office remains active.
It has been just less than a year since the Boston-headquartered company committed to Tampa with a new office space and a $1.5 million donation to the University of South Florida. Amid difficulties in the tech sphere, the Tampa location was affected but is now looking to grow, said Julian Waits, a Tampa-based senior vice president.
"As a company, we went through our challenges back in the August time frame, and we had a bit of a reorg and downsizing," Waits said. "Tampa was minimally impacted by that."
In August, the company announced it would be cutting 18% of its more than 2,000-member workforce and closing certain office locations in restructuring efforts, according to TechCrunch reporting. The downsizing came after lowered sales in the cybersecurity space and tightened customer budgets, with inflation and elevated interest rates, Waits said.
Waits told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that it laid off less than 10% of Tampa staff. In February, the company employed more than 70 in the 42,000-square-foot office in Industrious at Sparkman Wharf. In August, it had around 10 offices in the U.S., including locations in New York and Los Angeles, and today it has four offices, according to its website.
It's now looking to hire under its newly aligned priorities, and is doubling down on Tampa, Waits said. It's focused on talent acquisition, strategic relationships and corporate development. It's also interested in investments in Tampa businesses, he said.
"Things are looking up, and we started hiring again, and that's the key thing that we're back in a growth mode," Wait said.
He added it's easy to find new employees with the available talent. At one point, an entire team from Austin moved to Tampa, Waits said. Rapid7's CEO Corey Thomas has a residence in Tampa as well.
"Looking forward to 2024, it goes back to talent acquisition," Waits said. "We're very excited about the new employees that we're going to gain in the Tampa region. And you'll probably see more of a focus from a sales perspective also and focusing more on customer acquisition."
