RNL lays off 21, closes Cedar Rapids office

CEDAR RAPIDS — Citing reduced revenue and challenging market conditions, marketing firm Ruffalo Noel Levitz has closed its Cedar Rapids office and laid off 21 employees companywide.

The layoff will affect only a few RNL workers in Cedar Rapids, where 150 to 200 employees continue working in Cedar Rapids and other Iowa locations, said Rob Ackley of Marion, RNL vice president of human resources and administration.

Nationwide, RNL has 475 full-time and about 5,000 part-time employees and callers, Ackley said.

The company provides student enrollment and fundraising services and software to universities, colleges and nonprofits.

RNL employees were notified of the changes last month in a communication from RNL CEO Sumit Nijhawan, of Naperville, Ill.

Ackley said the leased Cedar Rapids office, located near Kirkwood Community College, has been largely unoccupied for the past three years due to the pandemic.

Except for a skeleton crew at the office, all other Iowa employees have been working remotely, he said.

Having people successfully work remotely during the pandemic, closing the Cedar Rapids office and continuing to have employees work remotely is “a natural progression coming out of the pandemic,” Ackley added.

Asked about future business prospects, Ackley said that higher education clients or potential clients "are facing the same conditions all industries are facing,“ including inflation, he said.

But the market, he said, "is incredibly vibrant and dynamic," and the company expects to adjust and evolve.

In his letter to employees, RNL CEO Nijhawan said the company began cutting expenses last year, but “unfortunately, these measures alone won’t bring our expenses in line with our current revenue outlook,” necessitating the layoffs.

“We are providing our normal course of severance, employee assistance program access and job placement assistance" to those employees, Nijhawan stated.

He said RNL will continue to improve as a business and continue its leadership role in the industry.

RNL, previously known as RuffaloCODY, acquired Coralville’s Noel-Levitz in 2014 and rebranded. It acquired Converge, a Cedar Rapids-based higher education marketing firm, in 2019.