Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a marketing firm, has closed its Cedar Rapids office and laid off 21 employees nationwide, citing reduced revenue and challenging market conditions.
According to Rob Ackley of Marion, RNL’s vice president of human resources and administration, the layoff will affect only a few RNL employees in Cedar Rapids, where 150 to 200 employees continue to work in Cedar Rapids and other Iowa locations.
According to Ackley, RNL has 475 full-time employees and callers across the country.
Universities, colleges, and nonprofits can use the company’s software and services for student enrollment and fundraising.
RNL employees were notified of the changes in a communication from RNL CEO Sumit Nijhawan of Naperville, Illinois, last month.
The leased Cedar Rapids office, located near Kirkwood Community College, has been largely unoccupied for the past three years, according to Ackley, due to the pandemic.
All other Iowa employees, with the exception of a skeleton crew at the office, have been working remotely, he said.
People successfully working remotely during the pandemic, closing the Cedar Rapids office, and continuing to work remotely is “a natural progression coming out of the pandemic,” Ackley added.
When asked about future business prospects, Ackley stated that clients or potential clients in higher education “are facing the same conditions that all industries are facing,” including inflation.
However, he stated that the market is “incredibly vibrant and dynamic,” and that the company expects to adjust and evolve.
RNL CEO Nijhawan stated in a letter to employees that the company began cutting expenses last year, but “unfortunately, these measures alone will not bring our expenses in line with our current revenue outlook,” necessitating the layoffs.
Nijhawan stated, “We are providing our standard course of severance, employee assistance program access, and job placement assistance” to those employees.
He stated that RNL will continue to grow as a company and maintain its position as an industry leader.
RNL, formerly known as RuffaloCODY, acquired Noel-Levitz in 2014 and rebranded. In 2019, it acquired Converge, a Cedar Rapids-based higher education marketing firm.
