Airbnb laying off 25% of staff

Airbnb (AIRB) plans  to lay off 1,900 employees, or roughly a quarter of its total work force, CEO Brian Chesky told employees Tuesday, as the coronavirus pandemic takes a brutal toll on the travel business.

Revenue this year is expected to be less than half what it was in 2019, Chesky said in a memo. The company had $4.8 billion in revenue last year. Chesky also said that Airbnb will narrow its focus, suspending projects related to transportation and television production and scaling back efforts to market hotels and luxury properties.

Airbnb's bookings have plummeted due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the company's liquidity improvement efforts have included a $1B debt and equity financing and a new $1B loan.