In a terse email sent on June 5, CareerBuilder + Monster told employees to prepare for the worst. The company, formed less than a year ago when Randstad NV and Apollo Global Management combined the two companies in a joint venture, said it plans to close its U.S. headquarters in Chicago and expects to terminate employees on August 4.
For employees, the message delivered little clarity and even less compassion. The email, first reported on LinkedIn by the Job Board Doctor and signed by CEO Jeff Furman, says that the company will be “terminating the employment of employees, including you.” The phrase reads as cold and uncaring, particularly coming from a company whose entire business is centered on hiring and supporting talent.
The email – sent to satisfy the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires that employers expecting to lay off employees give them two months’ notice – suggests that a sale of the business may be imminent.
A spokesperson for the company issued a statement clarifying that operations will “continue as normal” for the moment:
We are not taking any actions with respect to headcount or employment today. That said, to provide us with flexibility during the ongoing sale process and ensure we are meeting any obligations under U.S. federal and state law with regards to potential headcount reductions, we are providing WARN notices to the majority of U.S.-based employees.
The word “today” in that statement is doing a lot of work. While a buyer may retain some employees, the message to staff is clear. If a deal is struck, it will almost certainly involve significant restructuring. If not, the WARN letters still suggest that layoffs are inevitable.
This is the latest chapter in the long decline of the major job boards of the dotcom era. At its peak on March 7, 2000, Monster Worldwide had a public market valuation exceeding $8.6 billion.
Over the past decade, both companies have steadily lost ground – first losing the SEO battle to Indeed, and then watching as LinkedIn dominated the recruiting market. Despite efforts to consolidate operations, grow their brands, and court customers, Monster and CareerBuilder have struggled to regain relevance. And now, with the AI paradigm shift further undermining the traditional job board model, the business faces existential threats.
The author is a former employee of Monster.
