Internet domain registrar and web hosting company GoDaddy recently announced a restructuring exercise due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The said restructuring plan is expected to affect about 12% of the company’s total workforce or more than 800 employees.
The company said that the employees will either be let go or be moved to other roles or locations. The exercise will add about $15mn in pre-tax charges to the company.
The restructuring plan also includes shutting down of two Austin offices. Of the said job cuts, 331 employees are sales personnel with the company’s social operations in Austin.
The company said that there has been a dip in demand for higher-priced, do-it-for-you services such as GoDaddy Social.
In a letter sent to his employees, GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani said, “The social team in Austin has turned over every stone in the last three months to address the seismic shift caused by COVID-19. While the team made strides in selling our new lower-cost offering, with reduced demand and economics under pressure, we cannot continue to sell these products the way we do today.”
Scottsdale, Arizona.-based company is the world’s largest internet domain registrar and claims to serve 20mn customers worldwide.
The company had entered the Austin market post the acquisition of e-marketing firm Main Street Hub for $125mn in 2018. Main Street Hub was founded in 2010 to manage social, web and email marketing for small businesses.
The company also expects to exceed its second quarter revenue by about 1% from its initial guidance of $790mn citing high demand for its domains and websites.
GoDaddy said it will offer laid-off employees administrative leave that includes pay through September 1, although the workers will not be required to work. Health care benefits will be provided through September 30.
As of December 2019, GoDaddy had 7,024 employees worldwide.
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