Web hosting company GoDaddy is closing Austin offices, laying off 300 workers

Web hosting company GoDaddy on Wednesday announced a restructuring plan that includes shutting down its two Austin offices.

GoDaddy said the restructuring is due to fallout from the coronavirus crisis. It will affect about 12% of the company’s workforce, or about 814 employees.

Of those cuts, 331 are sales employees with the company’s social operations in Austin.

Company-wide, the cuts are mainly in outbound and social sales, and GoDaddy said about 40% of those affected will be offered other jobs with the company.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company is the largest internet domain registrar in the world, and hosts and builds websites for businesses. It claims 20 million customers worldwide.

GoDaddy entered the Austin market in 2018 with the acquisition of online marketing firm Main Street Hub for $125 million in cash. Main Street Hub was founded in 2010 to manage social, web and email marketing for small businesses.

Despite challenges brought on by the pandemic, GoDaddy said it has seen strong demand for its domains and websites and expects second quarter revenue to exceed previously issued guidance of $790 million by about 1%.

However, the company said it has seen a decline in demand for higher-priced services such as GoDaddy Social. Many of GoDaddy’s customers are small businesses that are not closed or are significantly cutting back expenses.

“The social team in Austin has turned over every stone in the last three months to address the seismic shift caused by COVID-19,” GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani said in a letter to employees. “While the team made strides in selling our new lower-cost offering, with reduced demand and economics under pressure, we cannot continue to sell these products the way we do today.”

GoDaddy said it will offer laid-off employees administrative leave that includes pay through Sept. 1, although the workers will not be required to work. Health care benefits will be provided through Sept. 30.

As of December 2019, GoDaddy had 7,024 employees worldwide.