One of South Florida鈥檚 largest technology companies is laying off hundreds of employees.
UKG announced the job cuts Wednesday in an email to staff. UKG may be best recognized thanks to its sponsorship of the Miami Heat basketball jerseys, which ended after the 2022-23 season.
The firm makes staffing and human resource management software. It has two corporate headquarters. One is in Broward County.
UKG is not saying how many job cuts will come from its Weston location. The decision to eliminate 14% of its workforce amounts to about 2,000 people losing their jobs.
In an email to staff that was shared with WLRN, CEO Chris Todd said the job cuts will 鈥渃reate a more agile and responsive organization.鈥� He wrote that they come after a comprehensive review of its business and 鈥渞edirect our investments to better support our strategic goals.鈥�
The layoffs are concentrated in the company鈥檚 U.S. operations. In addition to its headquarters in Weston, the firm maintains a headquarters in Massachusetts. This dual-HQ structure is the result of the merger in 2020 between Kronos in the Bay State and Ultimate Software in South Florida.
'Largest office renewal in Broward'
One year ago, UKG expanded its presence in western Broward County by leasing more space for its offices in a four-building complex. At the time, the total rented space was described as 鈥渢he largest office renewal completed in Broward County since 2019鈥� by Deanna Lobinsky, executive director of the real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield, which represented UKG鈥檚 landlord.
UKG had planned on notifying its staff next week but moved up the announcement due to speculation about job actions within the company. Some employees affected by the layoffs were informed the same day.
The company did not comment if some of those in affected positions would be offered early retirement or other exit incentives. However, in the CEO鈥檚 email to staff he said employees who are losing their jobs will be offered severance, prorated annual bonuses and job search support.
The unemployment rate in May in Broward County was 2.8%, among the lowest of any county. Florida added more than 14,000 technology jobs last year, according to the Computing Technology Industry Association, making the state second only to Texas in new tech positions.
"UKG was admired by competitors for their ability to recruit and attract top talent," said Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance CEO Bob Swindell in an email to WLRN. "I have no doubt that displaced, talented employees will have minimal concerns about joining equally impressive new Tech companies growing in South Florida," he said.
South Florida ranked fourth for technology job gains among major metropolitan areas. The trade group鈥檚 of government employment data concluded that in 2023 one out of every 22 people working in the region is considered to be working in the technology industry.
