A Bakersfield tech company that was bought out by Bitwise laid off its workforce on Friday.
The development leaves over 130 employees of Stria LLC without a job.
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The backstory: Bitwise, the Fresno-based tech and real estate company, acquired Stria LLC last year.
- Stria LLC was founded in 2005 and is a business processes outsourcing company.
- After months of financial troubles came to a head last month, Bitwise furloughed its entire workforce on Memorial Day and terminated its employees a couple weeks ago.
Driving the news: Any hopes that Stria LLC would survive the Bitwise collapse were dashed last week when Kern County officially issued the layoffs notice.
- Stria LLC had previously been a successful local company before being acquired by Bitwise last August. As part of the deal, the Bakersfield Californian reported that Bitwise was going to pay off the acquisition costs over a two-year period.
What they’re saying: Former Stria LLC ceo and founder Jim Damian had terse words for Bitwise, telling the Bakersfield Californian “the people that bought it ruined it,” and that the closure “defies both logic and any sense of morality.”
- “My former colleagues and I are signing on with other organizations, and the void created by Stria’s departure won’t last,” Damian said. “From this sad situation will come new homegrown successes… and I can’t wait to see what they are.”
