Financially-struggling Bitwise has not paid city service taxes since 2021, mayor says

FRESNO, Calif. (BNN)-- It'& #x 27; s not just Bitwise workers who are without a paycheck today after furloughs were revealed.
Businesses and organizations that lease space in Bitwise buildings say they'& #x 27; ve heard nothing from the tech company up until now and they wear'& #x 27; t know what the future holds.
"" We heard just like everybody else on the news. Getting details here and there,"" stated Nicole Rodriguez of Best Buddies.
Best Buddies is among the companies that lease workplace at the Bitwise Hive on Ventura Street.
Rodriguez said they have actually had no contact with Bitwise since the statement, but they can still get in the structure and their workplace.
The furloughs of Bitwise personnel took Rodriguez by surprise since, to her, it appeared the business was prospering.
"" Sometimes we'& #x 27; ll cross the street to the 41. And they'& #x 27; ll have a DJ out there for lunch and it just seemed like it was moving,"" said Rodriguez.
Bitwise likewise has an office in downtown Merced. Its opening created a lot of enjoyment in the neighborhood.
"" So this was a big deal to us, too, and coming right to a very noticeable corner of downtown and assisting to restore that and being really purposeful in the way that there seek to renew downtown and assistance downtown'& #x 27; s and then improve our labor force too,"" said Matthew Serratto, Merced Mayor.
Mayor Matthew Serratto stated Merced wants to grow the tech industry in the city. They saw Bitwise as a substantial partner in that plan, but Serratto still has high wish for more tech development in the North Valley whether or not Bitwise can bounce back.
"" Just having that university there and having all the development planned for around the university, I think puts us in an actually great position long term to diversify our economy to have a more knowledge-based economy and attract a lot of those companies,"" stated Serratto.
Others took the news differently, like a previous Bitwise apprentice who consented to talk with BNN anonymously.
"" I wasn'& #x 27; t excessively amazed that it, you know, was not sustainable since just from what I saw, it did not appear like a company that knew how to work with the amount of people that it brought it in and simply the work they were doing was just taking on too much,"" stated a former employee.
In a letter sent to the CEOs on Wednesday, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer exposed that Bitwise had not paid city business taxes because September 2021.
Dyer composed that business has 30 days to send accounting info to the city controller or possibly deal with additional action from the city.
The letter goes on to say that the business stopped working to properly alert the city, staff members, and the Employment Development Department about the furlough, perhaps breaking the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
"" Unfortunately, the suitable firms, including the City, received no such notice and were therefore not able to prepare to provide instant and important support to the affected employees. This is an important first step in providing services,"" Dyer wrote.
Given that the announcements of furloughs were announced we have yet to speak with either Bitwise CEO.
Action News reached out to both Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin, however got no answer on the phone, at their workplaces, or at their homes.
For news updates, follow Kate Nemarich on, Twitter and Instagram.