The bankruptcy filing of CareerBuilder + Monster, two of the most iconic names in the online recruitment space, marks a dramatic fall from prominence in an industry they once helped define.
Formed through a September 2024 merger, the combined company has now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, citing $50–100 million in assets against $100–500 million in liabilities. This filing sets the stage for a court-supervised restructuring and asset sale, with $20 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing lined up to allow continued operations during the process.
Key developments:
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Job Board Assets (the core of CareerBuilder and Monster’s public identity) are being sold to JobGet, a platform focused on gig and hourly workers.
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Government software services will be sold to Valsoft, a Canadian software firm specializing in acquiring vertical market software businesses.
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Military.com and Fastweb.com—two major web properties—will go to Valnet, a Canadian digital media firm.
All three buyers have signed on as stalking horse bidders, meaning the sales can be challenged by higher offers during the bankruptcy auction process.
CEO Jeff Furman described the move as a way to "maximize value and preserve jobs" in what he called a “challenging and uncertain macroeconomic environment.” The company has been under increasing pressure from modern recruitment and networking platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and AI-driven aggregators, many of which offer faster, more mobile-friendly, or more personalized user experiences.
CareerBuilder + Monster is jointly owned by Apollo Global Management and Randstad, and is being advised by AlixPartners (as financial advisor) and Latham & Watkins (legal counsel).
This marks a significant turning point in the history of digital job recruitment. Once the dominant players, CareerBuilder and Monster now join the growing list of legacy tech companies overtaken by more agile, niche, or algorithmically driven platforms.
