Online real estate platform Zillow announced mass layoffs on Tuesday, one day ahead of the company’s 2026 second-quarter earnings call.
In a letter from Zillow Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Wacksman, more than 500 employees were informed of their termination on Tuesday morning. Those cuts represent about 7% of the Zillow workforce.
Wacksman attributed the cuts to “organizational changes” related to a shift in strategy meant to help the Seattle-based company continue to “grow at scale.”
“In support of that goal, we’ve made changes to our organization that require the elimination of some roles today. These changes are about ensuring we have a disciplined cost structure and getting more efficient, with the right people in the right positions,” Wacksman said in a letter shared to Zillow Front Porch, the company’s media site.
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These company-wide layoffs come eight months after another round of cuts led to 200 people losing their jobs over reported performance concerns.
Tuesday’s layoffs also happened just one day before Zillow is scheduled to hold its 2026 Q2 earnings call.
The company’s Q1 results painted a relatively optimistic picture of Zillow’s finances and initiatives, with strong revenue growth of 18% year over year to $708 million. Company officials said that growth was on the higher end of its own forecasting.
This is despite the home-buying market being relatively stagnant for myriad reasons—largely exorbitant housing prices, high interest rates, and an uncertain economy and job market.
On Tuesday, Wacksman said the company has continued to outperform despite a housing market that is “essentially flat.”
Is Zillow in financial trouble?
While layoffs are often associated with a company facing financial challenges, Zillow’s Q1 results were notably pretty good.
Net income jumped from $8 million in Q1 2025 to $46 million in Q1 2026. Zillow’s mortgage and rental businesses grew especially flat despite the relatively weak housing market.
The Q1 report highlights concerns about website traffic taking a dip, and profit margins being a bit weaker than expected. The company also spent more than $600 million buying back its own stock.
Following Tuesday’s layoffs, Zillow stock prices rose slightly, which is to be expected—the stock market tends to react positively to layoffs. But Zillow’s stock price is down more than 46% overall since the beginning of the year.
So while things have looked good on paper, at least from a profit and operations standpoint, Zillow’s stock price has suffered.
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Zillow will release its Q2 2026 financial results after the markets close on Wednesday.
Wall Street analysts from MarketBeat said the company is expected to report revenue of about $758 million with earnings of $0.44 per share.
To read the full letter from Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman to investors and subscribers of Zillow Front Porch, click the text below.
Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman announces layoffs of more than 500 employees
Today, Zillow announced organizational changes that will result in just over 500 employees leaving the company.
As I shared with employees this morning, the people we are saying goodbye to today are our colleagues, people we worked alongside and who brought their best to Zillow each day. We’re grateful to every person who is leaving and we’re supporting them through this transition.
These are difficult decisions that reflect both the strides we’re making in our strategy and the reality of what is required of us to grow at scale. So I want to share why we made this decision and what it means for Zillow moving forward.
Zillow’s purpose is to make home a reality for more people — and we’re doing that. We continue to outperform the category, despite a housing market that has been essentially flat. The integrated experience we continue to build is producing results for our business and for the renters, buyers, sellers and professionals we serve.
But, along with that strong growth, we must ensure we are organized to continue winning into the future. Continuing to grow at scale requires us to work differently than we do today. In support of that goal, we’ve made changes to our organization that require the elimination of some roles today. These changes are about ensuring we have a disciplined cost structure and getting more efficient, with the right people in the right positions.
None of this affects what Zillow is fundamentally about. Our mission and purpose remain steadfast — we’re making getting home a reality for more and more people.
Every day, millions of people come to us at one of the biggest moments of their lives — finding a place to rent, buying a home for a new chapter or selling somewhere they’ve loved. The trust they place in us is something we’ve earned over 20 years, and it’s the foundation on which everything else we do is built on.
The opportunity in front of us is as large as it’s ever been, and we’re building toward it with urgency and a structure that will get us there.
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