Online used car dealer Carvana plans to lay off 1500 employees

CTOnews.com, Nov. 20 (Xinhua)-- executives at online used car dealer Carvana said in an internal notice to employees on Friday that the company plans to lay off about 1500 employees, accounting for about 8 percent of the company's total workforce, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Ernie Garcia, the company's chief executive, said in an internal notice that the layoffs were planned because the company faced economic resistance and an uncertain future.

Garcia said the company failed to accurately predict the developments and the impact on the company's business. The layoffs will affect the company's corporate and technical teams, as well as some operating teams.

CTOnews.com learned that Carvana said in August that it was trying to cut costs and improve the efficiency of its overall business, including logistics, distribution, advertising and technology, because of pressure on consumer demand and the prospect of a recession.

Carvana's total retail sales reached 117564 vehicles in the second quarter, up 9% from a year earlier, with a net loss of $238 million (about 1.611 billion yuan) and a profit of $22 million (149 million yuan) in the same period last year, according to data.