(Bloomberg) -- Booking Holdings Inc. is planning organizational changes and job cuts as part of a raft of measures aimed at freeing up resources and improving its operating expenses budget.
The online travel company said in a statement Friday that it will be “modernizing processes and systems,” pursuing real estate savings and “optimizing” its procurement processes on top of reducing its workforce.
“We believe these efforts will improve operating expense efficiency, increase organizational agility, free up resources that can be reinvested into further improving our offering to both travelers and partners,” said the parent company to almost a dozen travel brands including Kayak and Priceline.
Just a week ago, Booking raised its full-year gross bookings outlook and reported third-quarter room nights booked that beat analysts’ expectations, sending its shares soaring. Investors took its results as a sign that travel demand growth may not slow as much as the industry had feared it would.
Four years ago, in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, Booking eliminated thousands of jobs. As many as 25% of the employees at Booking.com, the company’s biggest business, were affected, the company said at the time. The company began expanding its workforce again in 2022, however, and has added as many as 4,000 jobs since then, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Booking said it will consult with works councils, employee representatives and other organizations while aiming to give more detail on timing and the impact on employees “in due course.”
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