More layoffs are coming to Central Texas as two employers cut dozens of jobs
More layoffs are coming to Central Texas: Two employers have announced plans to cut a combined 186 jobs.
Round Rock-based nonprofit Trellis Company, a student loan guarantor that helps college students navigate higher education financing, said it will cut 105 employees.
Meanwhile, technology firm Ibase Operations Corp. said it will eliminate 81 employees at a client's facility at 7700 Parmer Lane in Northwest Austin.
The layoffs were reported by Trellis and iBase in WARN letters sent to the Texas Workforce Commission. A WARN letter, which stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, is a federally mandated notice employers must provide to state governments in the event of major layoffs.
Why is Trellis reducing its workforce?
Trellis informed the state in a March 9 letter about next month's planned layoffs. According to the letter, the reductions will take place April 4 at its location at 301 Sundance Parkway. The affected employees will include some remote workers who are associated with the office, the letter said.
Last year, Trellis was named as one of the Top Workplaces of Greater Austin by the American-Statesman. At that time, the nonprofit said it had 334 U.S. employees. That means the planned layoffs will account for close to one-third of its staff.
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According to the Statesman profile, the company has assisted college students for more than 40 years, providing information and services related to applying for, securing and repaying federal student loans.
"A diverse organization, Trellis has a passion for supporting minority serving institutions including historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic serving institutions," the nonprofit said. "As a part of the company’s service to these schools, Trellis provides vital consulting, financial education and counseling, research, program development, and emergency grant services that help underserved students reach their higher education goals."
In the WARN letter, Linda Hackleman, Trellis vice president of human resources, said the layoffs were spurred by the loss of a U.S. government contract.
"Our understanding is that this is likely due to the federal agency's desire to realize certain cost savings," Hackleman said. "The result is that the prime contractor no longer needs Trellis' services."
She added, "This is an unforeseeable business circumstance that has led to a layoff that would otherwise not be required."
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Why is Ibase Operations Corp. facing reductions?
According to its website, it appears that Ibase contractors work for client Qualitest Corp., a Connecticut-based artificial intelligence engineering company.
The layoffs will go into effect May 31. In its WARN letter, the company said employees will have the opportunity to relocate to Mexico or India.
"With the current global macroeconomic conditions, the Search Language Specialist (SLS) program is taking a proactive step towards improvement of budget and resources for 2023 and onwards," a letter to employees said. "To support you during this time, we will provide you upskilling programs. We hope that completing these programs will help you to rotate to opportunities outside of SLS within and outside Qualitest."
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Growing list of companies announcing layoffs
Recent work reductions in Austin also include security contract firm Security Specialists Inc., a California-based company that is cutting 240 jobs here. The company's clients have included big tech names, including Google, Facebook and Apple.
Meanwhile, Israeli-based software company Wix.com is cutting 100 Austin jobs and dozens more in other U.S. cities. Wix, which is based in Tel Aviv, sells cloud-based web development services.
The companies join a wave of tech employers making cuts in Austin as they deal with economic uncertainty.
Last month, retail giant Walmart said it is shutting down its Central Texas technology development office. At the same time, tech giants with large Austin presences — including Google, Facebook parent company Meta, Austin-based Tesla, and Round Rock-based Dell Technologies — have laid off thousands of employees since late last year.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Two Williamson County, Texas employers layoff a combined 186 jobs
