A tech titan's bold declaration has sent shockwaves through the corporate world. The chairman of Opendoor has not only taken a stand against remote work and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), but has also put over 1,000 jobs on the line.
The move raises questions about the future of flexible work and corporate values.
A Drastic Plan to 'Fix' Opendoor
Opendoor's new chairman, Keith Rabois, wasted no time in making his intentions clear. On Friday, he publicly criticised the company as 'bloated', stating his intention to reduce the workforce by up to 85%. In an interview with CNBC's 'Squawk on the Street', Rabois said, 'There's 1,400 employees at Opendoor. I don't know what most of them do. We don't need more than 200 of them'.
Rabois is part of the 'PayPal Mafia', a well-known group from Silicon Valley that also includes prominent figures like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman. He has rejoined the online property company following the appointment of former Shopify executive Kaz Nejatian as the new CEO.
Yes. I’ll be in the office first thing Monday morning and first thing every Monday morning.
— Kaz Nejatian (@CanadaKaz) September 12, 2025
Following a campaign led by Rabois and hedge fund manager Eric Jackson, Carrie Wheeler stepped down on 15 August. Nejatian has taken her place after Rabois and Jackson pressured the board to remove Wheeler, who had served as chief executive for three years.
$open @rabois on cnbc
— Booolesh (@Booolesh) September 12, 2025
Rabois: if you have the right ceo everything is possible. If you have the wrong ceo almost nothing is
Cc: @CanadaKaz
Rabois: its not a meme stock
Sarah Eisen: give @ericjackson credit, he was early on caravana too pic.twitter.com/OULGH2VhYr
In a post on X, the former chief executive stated that speeding up her departure was 'the best thing I can do for Opendoor now.' Her exit came after the company's stock had soared, rising over six times since June. This surge occurred as individual investors bought into the shares following Jackson's promotion of them as a possible '100-bagger'.
Opendoor's stock, which became public in 2020 through a SPAC and later plummeted by 99% from its highest value, has rebounded this year. Individual investors and pressure from activists drove this recovery. However, investor dissatisfaction grew after the company's recent earnings report revealed a drop in home purchases and a lack of a clear plan for a turnaround.
A Stock on a Wild Ride
On Thursday, shares jumped by 78% after the news of Rabois's return and Nejatian's appointment as CEO. However, they fell by over 12% on Friday. Despite this drop, the stock is still up by almost 500% for the year.
Rabois claimed that remote work had 'broken' Opendoor's culture, stressing the need for the company to return to in-person collaboration. He told CNBC, 'This company was founded on the principle of innovation and working together in person. We're going to return to our roots.'
Rabois also criticised Opendoor for what he called a 'DEI path', stating, 'We're gonna fix all that.' Opendoor is a real estate technology company known as an 'iBuyer', which gives homeowners immediate cash offers to sell their homes quickly without the traditional listing procedure.
$OPEN dominating the charts! More popular than ALL the ‘magnificent 7’ stocks right now! Top 5 most popular company on reddit according to ChatGPT! They LOVE you guys @Opendoor community. Exciting week ahead for Opendoor Technologies! pic.twitter.com/MJf9QzlxC2
— Distress Signal (@SignalNCapital) September 15, 2025
Its primary business involves directly buying and repairing houses before selling them for a profit. It also charges service fees similar to those of property commissions. The company has also expanded its services to include mortgage lending, titles, escrow and warranties, aiming to capture a larger share of the overall transaction.
It is also creating new products, such as 'Cash Plus', and forming alliances with local agents to provide more adaptable ways for people to sell their homes. Opendoor's strategy is heavily dependent on data, as it uses its own algorithms and AI to set home prices and manage risk.
What Opendoor Employees Earn
According to Levels.fyi, the compensation for a software engineer at Opendoor starts at $180,000 for entry-level roles and goes up to $728,000 for more senior positions, with the typical salary being around $240,000 (£176277.60).
Additionally, 6figr estimates that the average total compensation at the company is $287,000. Most salaries fall between $225,000 (£165,260.25) and $619,000 (£454,649.31), and the highest-paying jobs can reach up to $747,000 (£548,664.03).
According to Comparably's website, the average salary is $143,000 (£105,075.68), with typical pay in operations at $170,000 (£124,915.15) and in product at $177,000 (£130,058.71).
