Beaverton-based legal technology firm Exterro announced Monday that it has laid off less than 3% of its workforce after acquiring Portland competitor Zapproved earlier this month. Most of the nearly 20 layoffs are in the Portland area, Exterro said.
“Synergies are often discovered and roles eliminated as part of an acquisition,” Bill Piwonka, Exterro’s chief marketing officer, wrote in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. He said the combined company is pondering its new product structure and trying to position itself for success.
When Exterro announced the deal 10 days ago, the company initially indicated plans to keep all 131 Zapproved employees. This will bring the combined company’s workforce to approximately 750 people.
According to Exterro, Monday’s cuts primarily affected Zapproved employees. On social media, Zapproved employees reported losing their jobs in the engineering and product divisions.
Both Exterro and Zapproved make software that helps companies manage their legal affairs. Zapproved’s technology has helped companies track electronic information related to litigation and other legal matters. Meanwhile, Exterro has provided more services to help businesses comply with regulations, manage online data, and protect electronic privacy.
However, the two product lines have had some overlap and the two companies have occasionally competed over the years.
Exterro’s cuts are the latest in a string of job losses at Oregon businesses and major regional employers this month, with layoffs concentrated in the tech industry.
- Intel is laying off workers company-wide, targeting $3 billion in cost savings to make up for a sharp drop in revenue. The company has announced more than 500 job cuts in California, but has yet to say how many it will lay off in Oregon, its largest operating base.
- Tech equipment maker Lam Research, one of Oregon’s largest industrial employees, will lay off 7% of its workforce. It did not disclose how many of its 4,000 local employees will lose their jobs.
- Portland vacation home rental manager Vacasa is laying off 1,300 people across the company. Of those, only 33 are in the Portland area.
- Marijuana giant Curaleaf is closing all of its Oregon operations and laying off 4% of its staff. Stores, production facilities and growing facilities remain operational for the time being while Curleaf looks for a buyer.
- Rail car maker Gunderson is laying off 101 workers at its North Portland plant as it moves production out of state. We plan to complete the layoffs in May.
Oregon’s unemployment rate rose 1 percentage point from the summer to 4.5%. Until recently, however, most of that increase was due to people joining the workforce looking for work and people leaving their jobs when they couldn’t find another. Things may start to change.
— Mike Rogoway | [email protected] | 503-294-7699
Our journalism needs your support.Become a Subscriber Today OregonLive.com/subscribe.
