iRobot Lays off 10% of Staff After Amazon Acquisition
The first week of August was a doozy for Roomba developer iRobot. The robotics company struck a deal with Amazon to acquire the company for $61 per share, in a deal valued at nearly $1.7 billion, shocking both commentators and some antitrust experts. On the same day, however, the company also announced it would lay off 10% of its staff.
iRobot revealed the layoffs—which, intentionally or not, were buried under the acquisition news—during its second-quarter earnings report. iRobot said it was in the process of restructuring its operations, meaning around 140 of iRobot employees would lose their jobs. Despite the odd timing, iRobot told robotics blog The Robot Report that Amazon was not involved in the layoffs.
