Zillow Group lays off 7% of workforce in new bid to control costs

“Some things are better without AI”: It’s more than a slogan showing up on billboards and T-shirts for Seattle indie radio powerhouse KEXP. It’s a mandate in an age of automated playlists and algorithmic programming. Jyoti Shukla, a tech veteran with experience at SiriusXM, Nordstrom, Starbucks and Microsoft, is the station’s new chief product and technology officer, and her goal is to build digital products that put human connection ahead of artificial intelligence. Read more.

A new round of Zillow layoffs: Zillow Group cut more than 500 jobs Tuesday, about 7% of its workforce, one day before it reports second-quarter earnings. Revenue rose 18% last quarter, but the company has been spending nearly as fast as it's been growing. The layoffs are about "ensuring we have a disciplined cost structure and getting more efficient, with the right people in the right positions," Zillow Group CEO Jeremy Wacksman said in a post. Read more.

Tech Moves: Teri Hatfield, Salesforce EVP and Tableau CRO, takes a role at Iterable; Gates Foundation legal director leaves for Arnold & Porter; Seattle-area startups AIM and Gravitics add to their C-suites; and other personnel changes. 

Hot Links:

• A coalition of major Seattle venue operators and event organizers is urging the city to reactivate police surveillance cameras in key entertainment and sports districts following recent gun violence in the area. (The Seattle Times)

• Driven by massive artificial intelligence expansion, Microsoft's global real estate footprint reached more than 112 million square feet after bringing 88 new data centers online over the past fiscal year. (PSBJ)

• There’s a growing revolt against AI, powered by backlash against the very things that power AI: data centers. (The New York Times)

• Clarity, a deepfake-detection and identity-verification startup backed by Seattle-based Ascend, was acquired by global workforce platform Deel. (LinkedIn)

Thanks for subscribing, and have a great day. — GeekWire editor Todd Bishop, [email protected]; reporter Kurt Schlosser, [email protected]; and reporter Lisa Stiffler, [email protected].