By Jorge Mercado Thursday, August 17th, 2023

AppFolio CEO Shane Trigg announced that the company would be firing 9% of its workforce, or 149 employees, effectively immediately, he wrote in a letter sent out to employees on Aug. 17.

The letter, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission, said the company’s lack of profitability hurt “our ability to achieve our potential.”

“To continue to deliver industry-leading innovation that enables our customers to thrive, we must generate enough profit to fuel long-term growth and reinvest in our products, technology, and people,” Trigg wrote in the letter.

He added that AppFolio’s costs have “increased considerably in this environment, and we have not scaled the business efficiently. This has forced us to make these changes in service of our customers and the long-term health of AppFolio.”

This is Santa Barbara-based AppFolio’s — a software company for the real estate industry — second round of layoffs this year.

In May, the company laid off 62 people or roughly 3% of the company. The company did not cite a reason for the layoffs when asked by the Business Times, although it had noted its advancements in its artificial intelligence platforms before the firings.

In the letter to employees, Trigg said the company had taken “many steps to lower costs this year,” but ultimately a reduction in workforce was necessary to reach profitability.

“While we’ve made real progress, these measures are not enough to get us where we want to be,” he said.

AppFolio shares closed up 1.6% at $166.99 on Aug. 17, with shares not moving in after-hours trading. The stock is up 56% since the start of the year, outpacing major indices.

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