Opendoor’s new chairman Keith Rabois blasted the company as “bloated” on Friday — vowing to cut up to 85% of its employees.
“There’s 1,400 employees at Opendoor. I don’t know what most of them do. We don’t need more than 200 of them,” Rabois told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Friday.
Rabois — a member of Silicon Valley’s famed “PayPal Mafia” that includes Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman — returned to the online real estate company this week after it installed former Shopify executive Kaz Nejatian as CEO.
Nejatian replaced Carrie Wheeler who resigned on Aug. 15 after Rabois and hedge fund manager Eric Jackson led a pressure campaign to remove her after a three-year stint as chief executive.
The ousted CEO said in a post on X that accelerating her succession plan was “the best thing I can do for Opendoor now.”
Her exit followed a surge in Opendoor’s stock — up more than sixfold since June — as retail investors piled in after Jackson touted the shares as a potential “100-bagger.”
Opendoor’s stock — which went public in 2020 via a SPAC before crashing 99% from its peak — has roared back this year, fueled by retail investors and activist pressure.
But investor unrest intensified when Opendoor’s latest earnings showed declining home acquisitions and no clear turnaround.
Shares soared 78% on Thursday after Rabois’s return and Nejatian’s installation as CEO were announced, before sliding more than 12% on Friday.
Even with the pullback, the stock remains up nearly 500% in 2025.
Rabois said Opendoor’s culture was “broken” by remote work, insisting the company must return to in-person collaboration.
“This company was founded on the principle of innovation and working together in person. We’re going to return to our roots,” Rabois told CNBC.
Rabois also criticized Opendoor for going “down this DEI path,” adding, “We’re gonna fix all that.”
Opendoor is a real estate technology company known as an “iBuyer,” offering homeowners instant cash offers to sell their properties quickly without the traditional listing process.
Its main business model is buying homes directly, making repairs, and reselling them for a profit, while also charging service fees similar to real estate commissions.
The company has expanded into related services such as mortgage lending, title, escrow and warranties to capture more of the transaction.
It is also developing new products like “Cash Plus” and partnerships with local agents to provide more flexible selling options.
Opendoor relies heavily on proprietary algorithms and AI to price homes and manage risk, making data central to its strategy.
Opendoor software engineer compensation ranges from $180,000 at entry level to $728,000 at senior levels, with a median of about $240,000, according to Levels.fyi.
The average total compensation at the company stands at $287,000, with most salaries between $225,000 and $619,000, and top roles reaching $747,000, 6figr estimates.
The web site Comparably lists average pay at $143,000, with department medians of $170,000 in operations and $177,000 in product.
The Post has sought comment from Opendoor.
