(Pro.com Photo)

Tech-powered general contracting platform Pro.com laid off 52 employees as the ongoing pandemic impacts home construction.

Pro.com founder and CEO Matt Williams. (Pro.com Photo)

Pro.com CEO Matt Williams confirmed the job cuts, which were first revealed in a WARN notice filed with the Washington state Employment Security Department. The company employs around 150 people, according to LinkedIn.

Williams said COVID-19 forced Pro.com to halt construction over the past few months amid stay-at-home orders.

“We’re truly saddened at how the pandemic has impacted our team, customers and subcontractors,” he said. “We are working hard to get back on the job for our customers.”

The company is one of nearly 500 tech startups that have slashed more than 60,000 jobs due to the economic and health crisis.

As construction resumes, Pro.com is implementing new safety precautions such as mobile software that logs daily visitors and health checks at its job sites.

“This helps with COVID-19 contact tracing in case anyone who was on a job site reports symptoms,” said Williams said, the former CEO of Digg and an ex-Amazon manager. “We have an incredibly committed and passionate team who love to transform homes for our customers and a team who cares deeply about safety. I’m especially proud of how our team has responded to the pandemic.”

Founded in 2013, Pro.com’s original mission was to transform the way homeowners find, book and schedule home improvement professionals — everyone from plumbers and painters to carpenters and ceiling fan installers.

The company then pivoted its business model from a home improvement marketplace to a general contractor itself with a full roster of in-house construction personnel.

Pro.com offers tech tools to streamline the home renovation process such as a pricing engine that makes sure bids are accurate, a quote tool that is detailed and mobile friendly and a layer of project management tools that give both Pro.com staff and homeowners a window into what’s happening with a job.

Pro.com raised a $33 million round in January 2019. Total funding to date is north of $60 million. Investors include WestRiver Group; Redfin; DFJ; Madrona Venture Group; Maveron; and Two Sigma Ventures. Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman is on the company’s board.

Seattle companies such as ExtraHop, Usermind, Rover, and more have also cut staff as they look to curb expenses and survive the downturn.

More than half of Seattle-area startup leaders surveyed by the Washington Technology Industry Association in May said that they have less than six months of cash runway remaining, and 23% have less than two months.

Last week, The Riveter, which won Startup of the Year honors at the GeekWire Awards, announced it will shut down all nine of its co-working locations due to the ongoing uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

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