Opendoor Technologies lays off about 18% of workforce

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Property-selling platform Opendoor Technologies Inc (OPEN.O) is laying off about 550 employees, Chief Executive Officer Eric Wu said on Wednesday.

"We're navigating one of the most challenging real estate markets in 40 years and need to adjust our business," Wu said in a blog post. The job cuts will result in an 18% reduction of Opendoor's workforce.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in September the U.S. housing market will probably go through a "correction" after a period of "red hot" price increases that have put home ownership out of reach for many Americans.

Opendoor had already reduced its workforce by more than 830 positions, according to Wu.

The company, which was earlier backed by SoftBank Group (9984.T), went public via a reverse merger with a SPAC in 2020.

Opendoor's shares have fallen more than 80% so far this year.

(This story has been refiled to correct grammatical error in paragraph 2)

Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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