PADDLE8 ANNOUNCES MORE LAYOFFS AFTER SPLIT FROM AUCTIONATA

Online auction house Paddle8 has announced a second round of layoffs, writes Artnews’s Nate Freeman. Paddle8 will be losing many staffers from all three of their offices, based in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Some areas are being manned by a single employee, as the cutbacks have profoundly affected the company’s design, technology, and cataloguing departments. The layoffs follow Paddle8’s departure from the German art auction startup Auctionata, announced in January. The first round of layoffs occurred when the companies merged last May—many senior staffers lost their jobs. Paddle8 plans on a buying back the half of its brand originally purchased by Auctionata through the sponsorship of an investor group overseen by a “strategic, majority sponsor.” Who those sponsors might be are, as of now, unclear.

Paddle8 has also announced that its former CEO and cofounder, Aditya Julka, is no longer officially with the company. He will, however, take on an advisory role.