The short answer
Zillow laid off just over 500 employees on August 4, 2026, announced in a company blog post by CEO Jeremy Wacksman, per HousingWire and FOX 13 Seattle. RISMedia put that at about 7% of Zillow's roughly 7,000 employees. A Washington state WARN notice lists 91 of the cuts, per HousingWire. A WARN notice is a written warning that large employers must give a state before a mass layoff. The figure is job cuts in a restructuring, and it was Zillow's second round of 2026.
What happened
Wacksman announced the cuts on Tuesday, August 4 in a post on Zillow's Front Porch blog, per HousingWire, the day before Zillow reported second-quarter earnings. Real Estate News reported that Inman first reported the layoffs. On the earnings call the next day, Wacksman described the cuts as a reorganization of the company's structure that moves teams, eliminates some roles and changes others, and said about 500 employees across several teams were affected, per Inman.
HousingWire reported on August 14, citing an internal HR email, that Zillow described the layoffs as company-wide and said a company FAQ told staff that selection was based on position elimination and/or work performance.
Who is affected
Zillow did not say which divisions were hit. A spokesperson would not say whether the cuts targeted specific teams, per Real Estate News, and HousingWire reported the company did not answer its questions about divisions. Two reports describe the Washington portion of the cuts, and they differ.
FOX 13 Seattle reported, citing GeekWire, that 91 of the cuts are in Washington, that they include 14 principal-level roles, five directors and three senior directors plus senior managers and senior individual contributors, and that product and engineering roles make up more than a third of the Washington cuts. HousingWire's August 14 reading of the Washington WARN notice gives a different split.
| Level | Roles |
|---|---|
| Senior-level | 49 |
| Director-level | 6 |
| Program manager | 5 |
| Principal-level | 5 |
| Managerial | 5 |
Source: HousingWire, August 14, 2026. The remaining roles in the 91 were not broken out.
HousingWire reported that the Washington titles include director of engineering, director of legal, principal content designer, senior managers of machine learning engineering, research science and software development engineering, and software development engineers. A Zillow spokesperson told Real Estate News the cuts were not connected to AI adoption.
When it takes effect
HousingWire reported, citing the HR email, that affected employees were placed on paid administrative leave through a set termination date, with base pay, target incentive pay where applicable and benefits continuing until then, and that Zillow reserved the right to recall them to work during the leave. HousingWire did not report the WARN notice's effective dates.
What the company said
In the blog post, Wacksman said the changes are about keeping a disciplined cost structure and getting more efficient, "with the right people in the right positions," per HousingWire. He described the housing market as essentially flat, said Zillow continues to outperform the category, and said the company must be organized to keep winning, per HousingWire, RISMedia and Real Estate News.
Severance and support
HousingWire reported, citing the HR email, that basic severance is three weeks of base pay plus two more weeks for each full year of service, capped at 21 weeks. Employees who are the primary subscriber on their health insurance get a lump sum equal to six months of COBRA coverage at 2026 rates for themselves and eligible dependents, per HousingWire. HousingWire also reported that resigning before the termination date increases the severance offer.
Earlier cuts at Zillow
- January 2026: Zillow cut about 200 employees in performance-related reductions tied to its annual review process, per Real Estate News, which reported GeekWire's story on January 30, 2026. A Zillow spokesperson said those cuts were not tied to market conditions, per the same report. HousingWire and RISMedia both counted the August round as Zillow's second of the year.
Questions people ask
How many people did Zillow lay off in August 2026?
Just over 500 employees, per CEO Jeremy Wacksman's August 4, 2026 blog post as reported by HousingWire and FOX 13 Seattle. RISMedia put that at about 7% of roughly 7,000 employees.
Which Zillow teams were affected?
Zillow did not name divisions, per Real Estate News and HousingWire. FOX 13 Seattle, citing GeekWire, reported that product and engineering roles made up more than a third of the 91 Washington cuts, and HousingWire's reading of the Washington WARN notice listed 49 senior-level roles among the 91.
What severance is Zillow paying?
HousingWire reported, citing an internal HR email, three weeks of base pay plus two weeks per full year of service, capped at 21 weeks, plus a lump sum equal to six months of COBRA coverage for employees who are the primary insurance subscriber.
Was this Zillow's first layoff of 2026?
No. Real Estate News reported that Zillow cut about 200 employees in late January 2026 in performance-related reductions, and HousingWire and RISMedia counted the August round as the second of the year.