Once-dominant job sites Monster and CareerBuilder go bankrupt, announce major sell-off, here’s what happened next

Monster and CareerBuilder, once dominant job search platforms of the dot-com era, have filed for bankruptcy, a report by CNN said on Tuesday. The two companies, which merged last year into Monster + CareerBuilder, announced they will sell parts of their businesses to multiple buyers through a court-supervised process.

Jeff Furman, CEO of the merged company, said the business had been hit by “a challenging and uncertain macroeconomic environment” and that “initiating this court-supervised sale process is the best path toward maximizing the value of our businesses and preserving jobs.”

Once industry leaders, with Monster famously advertising during the Super Bowl, both companies saw their relevance decline as newer competitors like Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor took over the job market.

According to CNN, the companies’ job boards are being sold to JobGet, a platform focused on gig and hourly workers. Monster Government Services will go to Canada-based Valsoft Corporation, while their media assets, including Military.com and FastWeb.com, are being acquired by Valnet, another Canadian firm. All sales are subject to court approval and competing offers.

Furman added that the company is “making difficult but necessary decisions to reduce costs and help ensure a seamless transition of our businesses,” including layoffs. Monster + CareerBuilder has secured $20 million in financing to continue operations during the bankruptcy proceedings.

The companies merged last year, with Apollo Global Management acquiring a minority stake, the report from CNN said.