Autodesk has announced it will cut 1,350 jobs as part of a worldwide restructuring plan.
The software company outlined the move in its fourth quarter financial results report, stating it would be reallocating internal resources towards what it believes are “critical areas”, such as industry clouds and artificial intelligence.
Despite reporting “strong” results, including a total revenue increase of 12% to $1.64 billion, Autodesk says the restructuring will impact 9% of its workforce, meaning approximately 1,350 employees, other exit costs, and facility reductions. The company expects incurring total pre-tax restructuring charges to be between $135 million to $150 million.
"Autodesk is focused on the convergence of design and make in the cloud, enabled by platform, industry clouds, and AI. We are reallocating internal resources toward these critical areas and beginning the optimization of our go-to-market functions to better meet the evolving needs of our customers and channel partners," said Andrew Anagnost, Autodesk president and CEO. "We expect consistent growth momentum and disciplined execution, reinforced by persistent share repurchases, to deliver sustainable shareholder value over many years.”
In a message to employees, Anagnost said the company would do "everything possible to support impacted employees and treat them with care throughout this process." Explaining the decision, Anagnost said the company would be shifting resources and accelerating investments in AI, platform and industry clouds. The statement also cited the company's shift in go-to-market strategy, "from the transition to subscription and multi-year contracts billed annually to self-service enablement, the adoption of direct billing, and more" and rapid changes to the global business environment "due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, as well as evolving regulations" as contributing factors to the layoffs.
Autodesk’s software tools are used by designers and engineers across architecture and construction, media and entertainment, and product design and manufacturing industries, including collaborations in the additive manufacturing space through integrations with its Fusion platform and advancements in generative design. It’s portfolio is categorised by its Design and Make business segments, which, according to this latest report, achieved revenues of $1.36 billion (an increase of 12 percent as reported and on a constant currency basis) and $176 million (an increase of 28 percent as reported and on a constant currency basis) respectively. Its Subscription plan achieved revenues of $1.52 billion, an increase of 14 percent as reported and on a constant currency basis.
"The fourth quarter and full year fiscal 25 results are strong," said Janesh Moorjani, Autodesk CFO. "The completion of the new transaction model launch in the fourth quarter marked a significant milestone, and we have now initiated the optimization phase of our sales and marketing plan. Once our sales and marketing optimization is complete, we expect to deliver GAAP margins among the best in the industry."
