Embattled real estate tech company RealPage is laying off at least 260 employees, or about 4 percent of its workforce, Bisnow reported.
The layoffs come as the Richardson-based firm faces a massive class-action lawsuit alleging large-scale price fixing, although the company contends the cuts are aimed at “accelerating its business growth in 2024 and beyond,” a spokesperson said.
The decision will effectively remove “a small number of roles within the company,” the spokesperson said.
The news was delivered to staff by CEO Dana Jones during an all-hands meeting. Impacted employees were subsequently notified by their managers that their positions had been eliminated.
In the lawsuit against RealPage, which provides management software for residential and commercial properties, plaintiffs allege that the company conspired with major residential property owners to artificially inflate multifamily rents using its revenue management software and rent-pricing algorithm. The lawsuit claims that RealPage’s platform influenced pricing strategies, potentially violating antitrust laws.
The FBI raided the Atlanta offices of major residential landlord Cortland on June 18, and Yahoo Finance reported that the raid could be connected to the Department of Justice’s investigation of Real Page.
On the same day as the Cortland raid, RealPage issued a statement refuting the “false narrative” surrounding its software. The company argued that fewer housing providers use its software than claimed, and that landlords have the option to disregard the software’s recommendations.
RealPage also highlighted broader issues contributing to the affordability crisis in housing, such as limited housing supply, rising construction costs, stringent zoning regulations and shifting rental demand.
Renters have filed more than 30 class-action lawsuits against RealPage since October 2022, when ProPublica first reported that its software could be inflating apartment rents to maximize profits for landlords. The Department of Justice began investigating the company earlier this year.
Federal lawmakers have considered legislation to ban algorithmic rent pricing in light of the allegations.
—Quinn Donoghue
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