Layoffs Spark Backlash to Tony Hsieh’s Plan for Downtown Las Vegas

Is Tony Hsieh giving up on Las Vegas? That’s the impression you might get this week reading about layoffs at the Zappos.com chief executive officer’s Downtown Project, an ambitious and ballyhooed plan to revitalize the city’s downtown. The Las Vegas Weekly reported that Hsieh had stepped back from leading the effort and that the organization was firing 30 of its 300 employees. The newspaper spared no drama, citing anonymous sources calling the cuts a “bloodletting.” Then Hsieh posted a series of online statements countering news reports and trying to assure observers that everything was going according to plan.

Hsieh, who made his fortune when he sold online shoe retailer Zappos to Amazon.com, launched the Downtown Project in 2012, pledging to invest $350 million in real estate, startups, and small businesses. The goal was to create employers, housing, and cultural trappings that would attract high-skilled workers.