workmetro lays off 50%, readies for acquisition
January 3rd, 2008
WorkMetro’s resume database might now be larger with former employees.
According to Dave Ellis, marketing manager, “it’s safe to say 50 percent or more were laid off.” The blood primarily ran throughout the sales department, but others apparently weren’t spared either. “It’s a lot quieter around here,” said Ellis.
Why the layoffs?
Ellis said the site is in talks with “several companies” to be acquired or merged. Overhead obviously had to be slashed in preparation for a buyer with replacement resources. No word on who the suitors are or the amount on the pricetag.
According to the site, the company (headquartered in San Jose, Calif.) services 22 metros throughout the United States, focused primarily in the northeast and southeast. Search rankings for most markets are favorable, which is sure to be a positive for any prospective buyer looking to target those locales.
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Damn Joel, I was just about to post a story on these guys myself! Was going to do it monday but i did not know about the layoff. I was basically going to pick them as the first job board dead pool site. I do have an interesting story about how they tried and failed in my market. Stay tuned to JOB BOARDERS next week.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Joel,
I have one question for you on this, How many total employees did they have?
January 25th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
No matter what, it doesn’t change the foundation it was built on. The CEO was a good solid guy. However, it was a job place that hires unqualified managers for the telesales team, and several drunken employees. Also, it was a fornication pool. As well as Gossip central. Most people went to work to see what drama was going down the next day, instead of working. It seemed like there was anamosity between Sales and Marketing. HR couldn’t stay confidential with other peoples private info. People who couldn’t sell were on a garauntee for 9 months straight. People who only hit quota once in 11 months stayed. People who worked there butt off didn’t get credit, because they weren’t part of the gossip crowd. Like i said, it was a recipe for disaster.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
We actually got up to about $541k one month, but my guess is it cost about $800k a month to run the joint.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I never quite got this whole ‘animosity’ between marketing and sales. However I do acknowledge that there was no attention put into Marketing after a certain Director left due to conflict with upper management. Without a marketing head, I dont quite get what was marketing’s role…
January 25th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
All the laid off employees of WM coming out of the woodwork, speak up! :)
January 25th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I think the company was doomed from the beginning now knowing what I know about the founders. Our product was crap. I’m surprised Sales didn’t feel embarassed when selling stuff.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Wow - are you all bitter are what? You sound like a bunch of little girls! When you find a new job, grow some balls rather than not speaking your mind!
January 25th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Couldn’t have said it better myself
# Anonymous Says:
January 25th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
There was a layoff because since the beginning of the company, it was never profitable. It cost about $500,000 a month AT LEAST, to keep the company going. The company never made more than $300,000 in a month. VP of sales was never around (3 trips to Disneyland and a month in Europe in less than a year). Director of sales had so much things put on his plate, he couldn’t keep up. Upper management didn’t care much about the marketing or sales team (which both were filled with solid people). It was a recipe for disaster.
I’ll never again work at a compay where nepotism rules. Management tried and tried to make changes but the executives ‘knew what their doing’.
This company should have taken off. Would have done great with good executives. or at least with executives who would listen AT ALL to the employees input. That just never happened. Different executive management would have been so great. Maybe they would have given marketing a budget to advertise instead of hiring 100 sales people for ‘turn and burn’ sales methods.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Sorry – if you can find another job!
January 25th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Ditto
January 25th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Mr. sales… are you one of the executives? you sound just like them. ‘it’s eveyones fault but mine. no one spoke up so i didnt know.’
People spoke up many many times. Very vocally. it was like talking ot a brick wall. Executives didnt want ANY input or feedback unless it was positive.
And someone is buying this company? I hope they don’t keep Workmetro’s CEO. He migt run their company into the ground too.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Yes - But I think you shoud of been! Funny I don’t remember you!
January 25th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Mr. Sales Manager….at your next position, don’t be on so many vacations to where you don’t know what’s going on. Also, why don’t you ask how YOUR company is doing. Not one of the executives knew anything about the recruiting industry. the least you could have done is stick around and learn the inustry. Don’t hire puppets to do all the work for you.clown.
January 26th, 2008 at 5:02 am
You are sorry! And your name is? What have you done in the past? I am sure you were a great leader and a huge sucesss at WorkMetro, Tell me what your name is and then we can HEAR what others say about your sales! My guess is you hid in your Cubical! Great W2 you had! HAHAHAH. Again let us know who your are so we can see how big of a sales pro you are?
January 26th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Mainly mid-level managers, hr, and employees did speak up. Rumor is they even did an intervention over a year ago to make the company better and were ignored. A new Ceo was brought in July, too late. The old Ceo and his cronie execs had already ruined the company. Plus, there was a manager in Atlanta that got all the attention from the VP of Sales even though he couldn’t manage, couldn’t make quota and couldn’t hire or retain any body that could sell. We wasted millions of dollars on just him and that office.
Same story over and over. Terrible upper management with huge egos that knew nothnig about our industry, never once met with a customer and wouldn’t listen to employees that did know, who hired best friends and college buddies, and who lied to the employees about how good the company was doing. Some of us and especially one Sales Director who worked his ass off knew how to run this company. Maybe he was too outspoken. Any one who pointed out what was wrong with the company was let go or left on their own. We even had 6 marketing directors in less than a year.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
to anonymous who posted on Jan 26th at 2:29 pm you are right on the money. The original director of sales was the heart and soul of the company but the lazy, coke snorting VP of sales piled far too many things on his plate for him to succeed while he(the VP of sales) was off at Tahoe or with his friend in different markets wasting the investors money on booze, coke and girls. When things went sideways he blamed the old director of sales and let him go. As far as telesales went anyone defending them is a total moron. Let me say that again….anyone defending telesales, the telesales manager or the leads they produced is a moron. The telesales department was in large like a drunken group of highschoolers with their manager as their ringleader. I overheard this manager on several occasions saying they did not care if telesales passed decent leads to inside sales. Oh by the way, there WAS an analysis done of numbers and the final word was that 4% of the leads passed from telesales to inside sales ever became real business. Only an idiot would make the argument that it was the fault of inside sales for not closing more deals. As if anyone in inside sales was not going to close anything and everything they could because that was how they got paid. Where did the leads come from to begin with? It was the job of telesales to provide them and they provided a high quantity of garbage leads. You have to understand telesales were paid on each and every lead passed and they were not compensated one iota on whether or not that lead became a sale. The telesales manager knew this and would become very nasty and confrontational when anyone made a suggestion to do anything that would improve the quality of the leads but decrease the volume of them. So when the old sales director is filed they promoted the telesales manager to inside sales manager. This person was a great example of someone who had zero leadership ability but was a “boss”. If you did not do what this person said or said what they wanted to hear you were on their bad side and they were out to get you no matter how much you sold.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
what about when the VP of sales would come out of his office and hav white stuff around his nose? that was hilarious.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
The product had evolved tremendously in the last 3 months—too bad they waited too long to hire a real CEO. Once he was on board, everything began to improve. But he just started in the summer of 07, so we never had a chance. We were too far in th hole by then, apparently. Or was Dave Lambert just ready to sell? Who cares.
The founders were not leaders, and is more eloquently put in the previous entries! The only reason I stayed as long as I did were the relationships with great customers in my area and the product was working well for them. And my boss was good.
Other things they did wrong also included implementing policies and pay plans every other week based on whims and coin-flipping. There was never a marketing plan, either. And what the marketing director said she was going to do never ever happened.
There were some good outsides that I’m sure have moved on to better things (there was no other way to go but up in this case).
February 11th, 2008 at 12:45 am
sheesh… for those that are commenting… LET IT GO. The company ran its course… for those leaving bitter and “gossip-ridden” comments about any of the former employees… LET IT GO. Apparently, leaving Workmetro has sadly traumatized some people… I’m sure anyone that has worked there has moved onto an new job in a new company with just as much gossip going on. But anyways… LET IT GO.
February 14th, 2008 at 3:42 am
Let it go? This must be HR. Hater!
February 27th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
What the hell on earth did jobbing pay for WorkMetro????????
Also, who cashed in from the original crew of Mark Babbitt, Cindy, Karen, Gabrielle, Jorge, etc- did anyone get paid- I hope so!!!
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:13 am
Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! It’s been awhile since I’ve been there. I have to say, there IS a lot of truth in what everyone has said. That place was the most unhealthy work environment I’ve ever been a part of. Hang in there all and I hope you all are moving on to bigger and better things! (and let’s face it… it’s ALL better after workmetro)