US online travel platform Expedia to cut 1,500 jobs

26 February 2024; AA: US-based online travel platform Expedia said Monday that it plans to cut 1,500 jobs globally as it evaluates the appropriate allocation of its resources.

"Given the recent completion of many significant technical milestones in Expedia Group’s transformation, the business continues to evaluate the appropriate allocation of resources to ensure the most important work continues to be prioritized," it said in a statement. "As a result, this year, we will be reviewing our operations, which we expect will result in approximately 1,500 roles being impacted across the globe."

"While this review will result in the elimination of some roles, it also allows the company to invest in core strategic areas for growth. Consultation with local employee representatives, where applicable, will occur before making any final decisions," it added.

Total pre-tax charges and cash expenditures associated with the restructuring plan are expected to be $80 million to $100 million, most of which will be employee severance and compensation benefits costs, Expedia said in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Seattle firm operates travel metasearch engines including Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz and Trivago with more than three million lodging facilities and flights on over 500 airlines bookable on its websites.

Dozens of companies in the US technology sector have been cutting jobs since the final quarter of last year as they struggle with lower income and falling advertisement revenue.

DocuSign, Snap, Uber, Reddit, Disney, 3M, Amazon, Yahoo, Affirm, Zoom, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, PayPal and Google's parent company, Alphabet, have laid off workers by the thousands since the last quarter of 2023.