Vacation rental property management company Vacasa, which acquired several Outer Banks rental companies in recent years, has announced it is laying off 1,300 workers nationwide.
The total number of cuts made to its staff on the Outer Banks was not yet known Tuesday night, but posts on social media indicate that some local employees were among the 17 percent of the company’s overall workforce that lost their jobs.
Vacasa acquired the portfolios of Hatteras Realty and Corolla Classic Vacations in 2019 when it purchased Wyndham Destination’s vacation rentals holdings, and then took over Outer Beaches Realty in December 2021.
According to the company’s website, Vacasa manages 998 rental properties from Corolla to Hatteras village, including 882 homes, 70 condo units and 27 townhouses.
A total of 2,719 properties statewide are managed by Vacasa from the mountains to the coast, with offices also located in Atlantic Beach, Supply and Sugar Mountain.
It’s the latest round of cuts by the Oregon-based company, after 280 staffers were let go in October, reported Skift.com.
Yahoo Finance reported Tuesday the cuts appear to have been concentrated in Vacasa’s commercial department, with a source saying inside and outside sales were being consolidated into a single unit.
Vacasa is assigning new territories to sales staff, the source told Yahoo Finance, and that the cuts were in both local and central teams.
The company said employees that received their notices Tuesday will be paid severance, provided healthcare benefits and access to job placement services.
Logistics staffs, such as cleaners and maintenance workers, did not appear to be as significantly impacted due to their high demand.
Rob Greyber, who was named CEO of Vacasa just four months ago, announced the layoffs in an email to employees sent Tuesday.
“When I joined Vacasa in September, some opportunities for improvement were immediately clear. As a result, we made rapid changes in how we organize, how we work, and where we put our focus, investment, and resources,” Greyber said.
“Now, having taken more time through our annual planning process, it is clear to me that Vacasa has more work to do. As part of this, we need to reduce our costs and continue to focus on becoming a profitable company,” said Greyber.
While concerns continue to rise about a possible downturn in the economy in 2023, that was not mentioned as a reason for the layoffs in Greyber’s communique.
“Looking forward, while these changes are difficult, they are the right decisions for our business. We have crafted our choices to maintain the strong service levels our owners and guests have come to expect from Vacasa,” Greyber said.
“As I have said before, I am optimistic about Vacasa’s potential. Because of that, I am equally focused on improving and accelerating our pace of execution across the company,” Greyber said.
Vacasa is a publicly-traded company, and announced the layoffs in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission following the close of the New York markets.
According to the filing, the costs associated with the layoffs would be around $5 million, including some $4 million for severance pay and benefits, and $1 million for related costs. The costs would be incurred in both the first and second quarters, and the workforce reductions would be complete by the second quarter.
Shares of VCSA on NASDAQ closed at $1.67 on Tuesday.
