Opendoor Board Chair Keith Rabois Plans 85% Workforce Reduction to Revitalize Company

Opendoor’s Board Chair Keith Rabois Advocates Massive Workforce Reduction

Keith Rabois, co-founder and newly appointed board chair of Opendoor, announced plans to cut approximately 85% of the company’s workforce, citing a bloated staff and cultural issues exacerbated by remote work. Currently, Opendoor employs around 1,400 people, but Rabois stated in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street that the company only needs about 200 employees to operate effectively.

Leadership Changes Amid Investor Pressure

Opendoor recently named former Shopify executive Kaz Nejatian as CEO after investor dissatisfaction led to the resignation of Carrie Wheeler last month. The company also reinstated Eric Wu, Opendoor’s founding CEO, to the board. Following these announcements, Opendoor’s shares surged 78% before pulling back by over 13% the next day, though the stock remains up nearly 500% year-to-date, largely driven by retail investor enthusiasm and promotion by hedge fund manager Eric Jackson.

Operational Challenges and Strategic Reset

Despite the stock rally, Opendoor continues to face significant operational hurdles. The company’s business model—leveraging technology to buy and sell homes—has yet to achieve sustainable profitability, with ongoing cash burn and limited near-term growth prospects.

Rabois expressed a broad strategic vision aimed at addressing these challenges. He criticized the remote work setup for undermining company culture, emphasizing that Opendoor was founded on close, in-person collaboration and innovation. “The culture was broken,” he said, underscoring his intent to return to the company’s original working principles.

Shift in Cultural Priorities

Rabois also signaled a departure from the company’s prior focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, stating, “We’re gonna fix all that,” though he did not elaborate on specific changes. Meanwhile, CEO Kaz Nejatian confirmed via social media that he will begin working in the office starting next Monday, reinforcing the leadership’s push toward reinstating onsite operations.