The future of a California business that opened a tech hub in downtown El Paso earlier this year with plans for also setting up permanent offices in Las Cruces is unclear as the company appears to have closed its doors.
Based in Fresno, California, Bitwise is a custom software developer and technology training company with offices in several cities in California and across the country.
Earlier this spring the company announced that it was opening an 11,000-square-foot coworking and training space in the Sotoa Building at 500 W. Overland Street in El Paso.
For Las Cruces, Bitwise purchased the Bank of the West office building at 201 N. Church Street, where the company said it would build out some 45,200 square feet in office, conference room, and classrooms space.
Up to $1 million in federal funding had been approved by members of the Las Cruces City Council for the N. Church Street project.
That project was to be modeled on previous Bitwise facilities in other cities. As of the end of 2022, the company was said to have renovated and repurposed up to 1 million square feet of existing buildings California, Colorado, New York, and Wyoming.
The apparent closing of Bitwise has resulted in its staff being laid off in El Paso, Fresno, Las Cruces, and other locations. Altogether, according to reports, some 900 people have been let go.
In response, a group of furloughed employees in Fresno have filed a class action suit against the company.
In a statement sent to the Fresno Bee, Jake Soberal, chief executive officer of Bitwise, described the layoffs as a “temporary action by the board and executive team while we determine the next steps.”
Founded in 2013, Bitwise has trained more than 8,000 people over the years, many of whom were people of color, women, or formerly incarcerated. According to earlier published sources, some 80% of those trained subsequently secured tech jobs.
By Garry Boulard
