Sometimes a ruler gets too ambitious and has to fall on his own sword.
So it goes for online real-estate king Zillow which, in conjunction with its earnings announcement Tuesday, said it was quitting the automated home flipping business less than three years after reorganizing its whole kingdom to accommodate it. The pullout, the company said, would reduce its workforce by about 25% over the next few quarters. Zillow said last month that it was pausing offers on homes for which it didn’t already have signed contracts through the end of the year.