Autodesk, a San Francisco-based design and engineering software company, announced Thursday it will eliminate approximately 1,000 positions worldwide as part of a multiyear reorganization of its sales operations.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Autodesk, a major San Francisco technology company specializing in design and engineering software, revealed plans Thursday to lay off roughly 1,000 employees across its global operations, representing approximately seven percent of its total workforce. The job cuts come as the company finalizes a comprehensive restructuring of its sales organization that has been underway for several years.
The layoffs affect Autodesk’s position as San Francisco’s 16th-largest technology employer. The company maintains approximately 1,055 workers in San Francisco and employs more than 15,000 people worldwide. According to a company spokesperson, roughly 10 percent of the planned layoffs will impact workers based in San Francisco.
CEO Andrew Anagnost addressed employees directly in a letter explaining the decision. “Today we are announcing enterprise-wide organizational changes as part of entering the next phase of our strategy,” Anagnost wrote. “The primary driver of today’s action is the completion of our multi-year go-to-market transformation.”
This latest round of job cuts follows a previous reduction of approximately 1,350 employees last year. That earlier workforce reduction occurred as Autodesk began reshaping its sales organization while simultaneously increasing investments in AI capabilities and cloud-based tools.
In his communication to staff, Anagnost specifically emphasized that the current layoffs are not connected to broader economic conditions or any initiative to replace human workers with artificial intelligence technology. “I want to be clear that this will not become an annual process at Autodesk and these changes are not driven by the external environment or an effort to replace people with AI,” he wrote. “We remain steadfast in our belief that technology is only as powerful as the people who use it and humans will always be the most important part of the equation.”
The company outlined plans for how it intends to allocate the savings generated from the workforce reduction. Autodesk stated it will reinvest the funds into several strategic areas, including artificial intelligence development, its software platform infrastructure, and industry cloud offerings. The company also plans to strengthen various corporate functions with the reallocated resources.
Despite announcing the significant workforce reduction, Autodesk delivered positive news to investors regarding its financial performance. The company informed investors that it expects to exceed its earlier forecasts for both revenue and free cash flow for the current quarter. Following the announcement, Autodesk shares experienced an increase in trading Thursday morning, suggesting investor confidence in the company’s restructuring strategy.
Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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