Airbnb is laying off 25 percent of its employees

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky sent a note to his staff on Tuesday morning saying he had to “share some very sad news.” 

He was letting them know that the home rental company had decided to layoff around 25% of its employees, which is roughly 1,900 people out of its 7,500 workforce. It’s one of the largest single layoffs by a Silicon Valley company since the novel coronavirus pandemic sent the world reeling.

“When you’ve asked me about layoffs, I’ve said that nothing is off the table,” Chesky wrote to his employees. “This is incredibly difficult to confront, and it will be even harder for those who have to leave Airbnb.”

Airbnb has experienced a financial hit during the pandemic. It’s seen tens of thousands of canceled reservations and plummeting revenue. The company was on track for an initial public offering this spring, but reportedly postponed those plans. In his letter to employees, Chesky said revenue for Airbnb this year will be less than half of what it earned in 2019, which was reportedly $4.8 billion.

Other tech companies with a focus on travel have also announced loss in revenue and layoffs over the past month. Lyft said last week it was letting go of 982 employees, or 17% of its staff. And Uber is rumored to be laying off as much as 20% of its workforce, which would total about 5,400 people.