Travel giant Expedia to cut 3,000 jobs: Report

PTI, Feb 25, 2020, 3:36 PM IST

Washington: Online travel giant Expedia will cut 3,000 jobs worldwide after what the company called a “disappointing” performance in 2019, US media reported Monday.

The firm, which operates its flagship travel site as well as Hotels.com, Hotwire, Travelocity, Cheaptickets, Egencia and CarRentals.com, said the decision was made after determining it had been “pursuing growth in an unhealthy and undisciplined way,” according to an email sent to staff.

“I am confident that simplifying our business and clarifying our focus by making these difficult changes, our teams can get back to working on the projects and priorities that make the most sense for us, our customers and our partners,” said Expedia chairman Barry Diller in a statement to The Seattle Times.

During a February 13 earnings call, Diller called the organization “bloated” and said many employees didn’t know what “they were supposed to do during the day.” Diller also said he was aiming for savings of $300-500 million in 2020.

Over the course of 2019, sales increased by eight per cent, net income by four per cent and earnings per share by six per cent.

By the end of December, the company had 25,400 employees around the globe. The job cuts will eliminate about 12 per cent of the workforce.

But company leadership revealed that in the last quarter, net profit had gone down four per cent and earnings per share had gone down one per cent.

In early December, Expedia announced the immediate departures of chief executive Mark Okserstrom and chief financial officer Alan Pickerill after what the company termed “disappointing” third-quarter results.