Redfin laying off 8% of workforce due to ‘market conditions’

Redfin cutting 8% of workforce: Faced with a downturn in the U.S. housing market, the Seattle real estate company announced Tuesday that it was laying off about 470 employees. “We could be facing years, not months, of fewer home sales, and Redfin still plans to thrive,” CEO Glenn Kelman said in a blog post. “We’re losing many good people today, but in order for the rest to want to stay, we have to increase Redfin’s value.” Read more.

Jeff Bezos gives $10M to Seattle museum: The Amazon founder is matching a gift he made to the Museum of History & Industry in 2013, this time to expand exhibits and programs in the Bezos Center for Innovation. Read more.

We’re No. 9! Seattle jumped one spot in an annual global startup ecosystem list that measures talent, knowledge, funding, and more. The region also ranked No. 9 in a list of top cities for life sciences.

Increasing diversity in biotech: Seattle Children’s Research Institute will train scientists from groups that are historically underrepresented in biotech as part of a new $45 million program focused on building skills for industry careers.

Seeing rising seas in VR: The Seattle Public Library and the University of Washington have created a virtual reality experience that explores climate change and its impacts on sea level rise in Seattle’s industrialized Duwamish River and South Park neighborhood. Read more.

Move over, bobbleheads: The Seattle Mariners are going cutting-edge tech with an upcoming game-day giveaway, offering fans an NFT digital collectible.