Amplify Education Lays Off Hundreds of Employees, Many From Dumbo Office

As of 10:30 a.m Wednesday, one of Brooklyn’s biggest tech companies, Amplify Education, has laid of hundreds of its some-1,200 employees.

According to a dismissed employee who spoke to the Observer, Dumbo employees were simply told, “‘we’re letting you go’ in very lawyerly terms.” Amplify, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has been in negotiations with investors regarding the sale of the failing education technology company since at least early August.

The national company makes software and hardware for a more accessible educational experience. Located on two floors of the massive nine-story complex at 55 Washington Street, which also houses Etsy and will soon house an Equinox, the educational technology company is run by former NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.

It is unclear exactly how many employees from the Dumbo office were included in layoffs, but in any case, it is no longer one of the largest Brooklyn tech companies. Huge recently overtook Amplify to occupy the No. 1 spot with more than 1,200 employees, according to its website; Etsy has more than 750.

Media became aware of the hush-hush layoffs following a tweet from one employee who lost his job with Amplify this morning. He was not offered a package, and thus did not sign the alleged nondisclosure agreement that accompanied it.

Despite an initial claim that 800 employees were laid off, a spokesperson from Amplify contacted the Observer to say that roughly 500 were laid off “with many of them staying on during the transition.”

As the company awaits sale, recently laid-off employees fear the company won’t provide health care for expectant parents.

The massive layoffs mark a sad chapter in what was a promising company that planned to revolutionize schools through online curriculums, tablets and a $1 billion-plus investment from News Corp. Yet, as early as April, Bloomberg Business was already noting the many failures in the deep-pocketed company.

.@JoelIKlein Would you care to share the truth behind the axing of the majority of your @amplify employees today?

— Alex Modestou (@alexvmodestou) September 29, 2015

.@amplify just laid off about 800 workers nationwide, including most of the Durham office staff. @TheHerald_Sun @joelklein

— Alex Modestou (@alexvmodestou) September 29, 2015

[Source: NYO | Photo: Scott Bintner for PropertyShark]

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